# Were there benefits to humans moving out of Africa into cold areas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 29, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690 "2018-10-29T23:03:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/41 "2018-10-31T02:56:12Z")
**Rat** and **Exapno** , I would really like to understand both sides of your argument a little better but it got beyond me fast. Can either or both of you take some time to summarize for the interested layman? ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/42 "2018-10-31T02:57:36Z")
Here is a fairly good review by Iain Mathieson of harvard. [http://mathii.github.io/review/2015/06/14/lactase-persistence-and-ancient-dna](http://mathii.github.io/review/2015/06/14/lactase-persistence-and-ancient-dna) > [@](#): > > We didn’t find any evidence for LP in early farming populations like the LBK, or in early Bronze age steppe populations like the Yamnaya. In as-yet unreported data, we find a few copies of the allele in the Srubnaya a later steppe population who seem to have some European Farmer-like ancestry. Anyway too much drift here, just saying that light skin and milk tolerance were two separate events, and while selection may have lead to their spread it wasn’t needed for humans to move farther north. It was just an advantage in competing in an already agriculture based peopled land. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/43 "2018-10-31T03:11:54Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > **Rat** and **Exapno** , I would really like to understand both sides of your argument a little better but it got beyond me fast. Can either or both of you take some time to summarize for the interested layman? Here is my attempt at simple. it is highly likely that when the pyramids in Egypt were being built, most European adults could not drink milk. It is almost certain that when the Sumerians were inventing cuneiform script almost all European adults could not drink milk. About 2000 years or so earlier from those Sumerians, or the distance of us from the time of the story of Jesus, most individuals in Europe with blue eyes would have had very dark skin. In summary; latitude alone didn’t drive the evolution of Europeans’ light skin and ranching/farming alone didn’t drive the evolution of European’s tolerance of milk. Those two traits were also not spread at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/44 "2018-10-31T09:19:09Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’d consider [this map](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactose_intolerance#/media/File:Lactose_tolerance_in_the_Old_World.svg) to be better nuanced. Even that map isn’t quite right, given more recent work. It misses a locus of [high LP occurrence](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5102062/)in the South West, where Khoe-Kwadi-speaking [pastoralists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khoikhoi) with[East African roots](https://www.docdroid.net/MizTBoa/breton2014.pdf) settled. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/45 "2018-10-31T16:38:19Z")
I’m still confused. > [@rat\_avatar](#): > > [https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2018/08/15/337998.full.pdf](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2018/08/15/337998.full.pdf) The only cite in that paper of LP was > [@](#): > > 622 Enattah NS, Sahi T, Savilahti E, Terwilliger JD, Peltonen L, Jarvela I. 2002. Identification of a > 623 variant associated with adult-type hypolactasia. Nat Genet 30:233-237. That’s far earlier than 2007. If age is a factor why cite that? > [@](#): > > While Yamnaya was _a part_ of the Steppe ancestry I would state that your cite is still claiming Yamnaya \*was \*PIE. Yamnaya was obviously related to the Indo-European replacement but not enough information to claim that they are PIE. > > Yes, my 2017 cite is claiming that. > > Kurgan hypothesis or the Pontic Steppe theory as your cite stated is way to broad and generally you will note a de-emphasis over the past few years. But note that their cited study there \*Haak \*is the one that demonstrated a there was minimal evidence of lactase persistence among the Yamnaya > > They are trying to match [Allentof](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14507#auth-3)with _Haak’s_ paper that is counter to their claim. > > [Genes reveal traces of common recent demographic history for most of the Uralic-speaking populations | Genome Biology | Full Text](https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-018-1522-1) The abstract merely says that evidence for LP alleles does’t show up in the Bronze Age. That’s a so what. The Bronze Age ended 3300 BC. I made no claim about Bronze Age northern Europeans. > [@](#): > > So sorry, I think the linguists bent on your cite is coloring their reading of the evidence, which unfortunately is not as clear cut as they present it. > > While there is no doubt that the Yamnaya culture expanded in 5300–4600 BP, lactose tolerance didn’t become common until after their expansion. If they are, then give me cites that say that,preferably cites of full articles. Please remember that I am trying to catch up after thankfully not having to deal with genetics for a decade. I just need cites that match your claims. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/46 "2018-10-31T20:09:25Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’m still confused. > The only cite in that paper of LP was > > That’s far earlier than 2007. If age is a factor why cite that? Because that was a cited source from your cite, which didn’t match your cites’ conclusion. DNA research has moved massively over the past decade which is the reason older studies tend to be more biased to older theories but one must still look at the sources for review. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The abstract merely says that evidence for LP alleles does’t show up in the Bronze Age. That’s a so what. The Bronze Age ended 3300 BC. I made no claim about Bronze Age northern Europeans. > If they are, then give me cites that say that,preferably cites of full articles. Please remember that I am trying to catch up after thankfully not having to deal with genetics for a decade. I just need cites that match your claims. Yes, it is painful as open access isn’t very well adopted in this field. Here is one paper that will show why LP has been moved back to the “we dont’ really know why” point. > [@](#): > > As yet no definitive conclusions have been > drawn about why LP was so advantageous, but this challenging > issue will only benefit from cross-disciplinary research. [https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mace-lab/publications/articles/2013/GerbaultPG\_et\_al\_2013IUBMB](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mace-lab/publications/articles/2013/GerbaultPG_et_al_2013IUBMB) Note how they note that rickets isn’t found in earlier populations and while the calcium absorption hypothesis may be found true, the lack of rickets is problematic there. As they have located cheese-strainers from 7,150 to 6,750 years BP dairying existed in the neolithic, and the areas were peopled. So allele surfing or an advantage for year round food sources in milked animals are also highly likely. As these areas were peopled by agrarian societies, LP was not a reason that it was beneficial to migrate to these areas as posed in the OP, but rather probably developed as an advantage to groups already in those areas. As I can’t find a paywall free version, here is a release about this cheese claim, which would have provided the benefits without adult lactose tolerance as cheese doesn’t require LP. [https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/news/2018/researchers-uncover-earliest-known.htm](https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/news/2018/researchers-uncover-earliest-known.htm) > [@](#): > > Despite the prevalence of lactose-intolerance among ancient farmers, milk could be consumed by young children, while fermentation and cheese production allowed adults to digest dairy products and benefit from their significant nutritional advantages. > [@](#): > > We suggest that milk and cheese production among Europe’s early farmers reduced infant mortality and helped stimulate demographic shifts that propelled farming communities to expand to northern latitudes. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/47 "2018-10-31T20:16:50Z")
As that cite only really covered the oldest example of cheese making here is a general overview showing how widespread it was and that the dual meat milk model predated LP by a very long time. [https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11698](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11698) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/48 "2018-11-01T14:26:03Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > Here is one paper that will show why LP has been moved back to the “we dont’ really know why” point. > > [https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mace-lab/publications/articles/2013/GerbaultPG\_et\_al\_2013IUBMB](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mace-lab/publications/articles/2013/GerbaultPG_et_al_2013IUBMB) That looks like a good one. I’ll have to study it. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/49 "2018-11-01T19:02:25Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > The answer is always going to be lebensraum. Space to grow and lack of competition from other humans. Tribal hunter-gatherers require some space and areas not picked over by other tribes. Are there dangers moving to new territory? Sure. But none so bad, long term, as dealing with other humans. Yeah, I think that is it. I’m tired of putting up with dad’s shit. He and his buddies have all the good land, the best hunting sites, and they make all they rules. I do not like their rules. And mom thinks she’s a fucking queen or something. There is free land just over those hills. Land a man has never seen. Good hunting and good fortunes, let’s go boys (and girls). It is a basic drive of humans to want more, more for themselves and their group. Manifest Destiny on a global scale. People even braved the vast seas to settle every viable rock, just to have a place of their own. Curiosity killed the cat, but made Man who he is. Repeat as necessary, a few dozen miles at a time, and all the resources are taken. Keep repeating and in time you will colonize Mars. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/50 "2018-11-02T17:40:48Z")
I do wonder who, hundreds of thousands of years ago, buried himself in a pile of leaves to stay warm one unseasonably cold night - then remembered how nice the fur from the last hunt felt, and that the fuzzy animals didn’t seem to feel the cold, and decided to try to take one of those skins off the next kill and wear it. Or else they dressed ceremonially for a dance about hunting, and remembered one cold night how warm it was in one of those. Once you get out of central Africa it can get cold enough on occasion to appreciate a removable covering. (Jerusalem got almost a foot of snow a few years ago, and we’re at the peak warmth of the ice age cycle) From there, it’s just a matter of degrees (sorry). If you know how to protect yourself from cold, you can move to slightly colder areas prepared for the occasional weather extreme. And as others also point out, when this migration happens a mile at a time, a dozen miles per generation, it eventually morphs from loincloths and cloaks to boots and full Eskimo parkas over 100,000 years. The key breakthrough was the initial concept of clothes. Presumably building shelters followed in the same vein - keep the fire warmth in as much as keep the critters from nosing around. ---
**Author:** ![TemporalFix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c6cbf5/32.png) [@TemporalFix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TemporalFix)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/51 "2018-11-02T18:09:21Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > The answer is always going to be lebensraum. Space to grow and lack of competition from other humans. Competition for ‘lebensraum’ is always insufficient as an evolutionary explanation. Simply because there is _always_ competition. If competition caused our ancestors to move to colder climates, then they would have done so already 2, 3, 5, or 20 million years before - because in these times, there was competition for lebensraum, too. Before 1 million years ago, some individual ancient humans likely tried living in other areas and climates - and died trying. But more recently human ancestors were successful outside east Africa. So something must have changed then. _Competition_ was not the factor that changed - because competition is always there. And it can’t just be that circumstances in East Africa changed unfavorably - if that happened, humans would just have gone extinct. What might have changed is the circumstances in those colder climates. For example, ice ages made large herd animals thrive, and humans successfully hunted them. Another thing that might have changed, is that humans evolved in response to environmental changes in their East African habitat, and that these new evolutionary changes were by happenstance also useful in colder climates. For example, evolution resulting in better brains for co-operation and tool-making, would be useful in colder climates too. Of course, it is still a mystery what could have triggered such an evolutionary change. It can not simply be that better brains are always useful - if that was the case, better brains would have evolved long before, and by other animals too. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/52 "2018-11-02T18:10:55Z")
Modern humans were living at the far southern tip of Africa, so they didn’t need to leave Africa to find relatively cool areas. And, of course, early _Homo_ populations were living in Georgia (in the Caucus region) almost 2M years ago. Our genus has had a long history of exposure to cold dating back much further than the exodus of Sapiens from Africa. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/53 "2018-11-02T20:02:58Z")
> [@TemporalFix](#): > > Competition for ‘lebensraum’ is always insufficient as an evolutionary explanation. Simply because there is _always_ competition. If competition caused our ancestors to move to colder climates, then they would have done so already 2, 3, 5, or 20 million years before - because in these times, there was competition for lebensraum, too. > > Before 1 million years ago, some individual ancient humans likely tried living in other areas and climates - and died trying. But more recently human ancestors were successful outside east Africa. So something must have changed then. > > _Competition_ was not the factor that changed - because competition is always there. > > And it can’t just be that circumstances in East Africa changed unfavorably - if that happened, humans would just have gone extinct. > > What might have changed is the circumstances in those colder climates. For example, ice ages made large herd animals thrive, and humans successfully hunted them. > > Another thing that might have changed, is that humans evolved in response to environmental changes in their East African habitat, and that these new evolutionary changes were by happenstance also useful in colder climates. > > For example, evolution resulting in better brains for co-operation and tool-making, would be useful in colder climates too. Of course, it is still a mystery what could have triggered such an evolutionary change. It can not simply be that better brains are always useful - if that was the case, better brains would have evolved long before, and by other animals too. During he African Humid Period between 14,800 and 5,500 BP the Sahara was steppe and forest-steppe while the Sahel to the south was a more arid savanna. As the glaciers receded from Europe tundra gave way to steppe biomes which are similar to areas in Africa where we lived. Human intelligence hasn’t changed much from 80,000–100,000 BP. The human brain requires more than twice as many calories as the chimpanzee brain and 300-600% more than squirrels, mice, and rabbits. But that evolution pre-dates any movement outside of Africa. As we were hunter-gatherers and we have examples of fishing like the Antrea Net from around 9300 BP in Finland it shows that following rainfall and steppe is quite possible and nomadic groups dont’ really have the same need for lebensraum which is really based on the discredited ideas of eugenics anyway. Simple changes in the climate would have lead people to follow the relatively rich food supplies from the marshlands and floodplains of the expanding forest-steppe and steppe. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/54 "2018-11-02T20:28:20Z")
Here is a recent cite in support of my above post. Note that the transition from HG to farmers was more gradual in the north, and how an aquatic diet was mixed in. [https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)30559-6](https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)30559-6) > [@](#): > > Dietary stable-isotope analysis of this sample suggests a mixed terrestrial/aquatic diet. Our results provide support for complex interactions among hunter-gatherers and farmers in the Danube basin, demonstrating that in some regions, demic and cultural diffusion were not mutually exclusive, but merely the ends of a continuum for the process of Neolithization. Note that while large game remains are more likely to be preserved, and at one point were thought to be the main source of calories, the paleo diet is now generally considered to be skewed towards plant based diets. The modern fad diet and commonly taught assumptions about the Paleolithic diets are generally myths. Human foragers managed with what they could find and wet areas are typically more productive. [http://www.pnas.org/content/113/51/14674](http://www.pnas.org/content/113/51/14674) ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/55 "2018-11-02T20:48:50Z")
I should note that outside of simple allele changes like adult lactose tolerance human’s haven’t changed much for 200,000 years. 200K BP is the general date for the arrival of anatomically modern humans, but there is no evidence that modern humans are cognitive superior to [Neanderthals](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0096424). It is far more likely that changes in climate and bands of suitable habitat enabled these migrations. As Neandertals arrived at least 350,000 BP and were in Eurasia for over 300,000 years most of our intelligence probably evolved at some point in the history of our common ancestors. The Denisovans were also in Eurasia before modern humans which also suggests that changes in cognitive ability were not a main driver here. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2018, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/56 "2018-11-03T01:34:51Z")
> [@TemporalFix](#): > > Competition for ‘lebensraum’ is always insufficient as an evolutionary explanation. Simply because there is _always_ competition. If competition caused our ancestors to move to colder climates, then they would have done so already 2, 3, 5, or 20 million years before - because in these times, there was competition for lebensraum, too. > > Before 1 million years ago, some individual ancient humans likely tried living in other areas and climates - and died trying. But more recently human ancestors were successful outside east Africa. So something must have changed then. > > _Competition_ was not the factor that changed - because competition is always there. > > And it can’t just be that circumstances in East Africa changed unfavorably - if that happened, humans would just have gone extinct. > > What might have changed is the circumstances in those colder climates. For example, ice ages made large herd animals thrive, and humans successfully hunted them. > > Another thing that might have changed, is that humans evolved in response to environmental changes in their East African habitat, and that these new evolutionary changes were by happenstance also useful in colder climates. > > For example, evolution resulting in better brains for co-operation and tool-making, would be useful in colder climates too. Of course, it is still a mystery what could have triggered such an evolutionary change. It can not simply be that better brains are always useful - if that was the case, better brains would have evolved long before, and by other animals too. The problem is how humans lived. To live in an area that regularly gets cold - we’re not talking ice age, but even say some climate like Washington or northern Italy today, or even milder than that, where frost and snow is a real possibility - Then homo had to have the technology of clothes and shelter and fire. Once they figured out those technologies, it was only a matter of degrees. Another point - humans evolved - and lost their hair - by becoming the best long distance runners on the plains of mid-Africa. Bipedal locomotion and a marvelous ability to sweat out the heat while running gave them remarkable endurance, but a serious vulnerability to cold climates. Also, they started hunting by running down large animals that could not escape except by running, and eventually lost the race from exhaustion. For humans to feed themselves in other areas, they needed the tools to take down other more elusive game - fishhooks, spears tipped with extremely sharp stone points, clubs and axes with weighted heads tied to long handles, eventually arrows. (And of course, the smarts for planning and driving game into traps) Once they had the tech - tipped weapons, clothing, shelter, and fire - they were equipped to move on up to the (middle) east side. And… that seems to be what they did. Earlier versions of Homo did in fact move up into Asia, eventually displaced by newer and smarter versions with improved tech. So, for the OP - were there benefits? Of course, developing tech is always a benefit. the same tech that allowed them to move out to the colder areas also benefitted life in their existing areas. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/57 "2018-11-03T02:33:23Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > There was a lack of suitable domesticable animals in Africa, but I doubt that’s the reason humans migrated out. And I’m not sure about wetter climate either because I’m pretty sure Africa was wetter then, and the move happened long before agriculture. It’s good that you mention this. The northern third of Africa is arid now but was temporarily much wetter in earlier geological time. The arid and wet periods have alternated over the millennia. When it’s wet in the Sahara and lots of plants and animals flourish, human populations increase there. When the Sahara dries out, there are lots of people moving out to find better living conditions. First it gathers people, then it pushes them out, in a cyclical pattern. It’s called the [Saharan Pump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara_pump_theory), and it has a lot to do with the answer to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2018, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/58 "2018-11-03T12:29:49Z")
The Earliest tech would I think be knives. IIRC there are plenty of areas where ancient subspeicies of humans first roamed, where you can find the remains of making edged tools from flint. After all, once you’ve chased down a big wildebeest or gazelle and poked it to death with a spear, how do you get at the meat inside? Then the same tool also works to cut new pointy sticks and posts for shelters instead of looking for dead ones that have fallen off. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/59 "2018-11-03T13:28:37Z")
> [@TemporalFix](#): > > What might have changed is the circumstances in those colder climates. For example, ice ages made large herd animals thrive, and humans successfully hunted them. > > Another thing that might have changed, is that humans evolved in response to environmental changes in their East African habitat, and that these new evolutionary changes were by happenstance also useful in colder climates. > > For example, evolution resulting in better brains for co-operation and tool-making, would be useful in colder climates too. Of course, it is still a mystery what could have triggered such an evolutionary change. It can not simply be that better brains are always useful - if that was the case, better brains would have evolved long before, and by other animals too. Homo erectus was the one that moved out of Africa and also mastered fire which would have been useful in areas with more cold and fewer daylight hours. Around when did humans start using the fur/skin of other animals? I realize that fur coat may not have preserved well through time. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2018, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690/60 "2018-11-03T13:29:40Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Another point - humans evolved - and lost their hair - by becoming the best long distance runners on the plains of mid-Africa. Bipedal locomotion and a marvelous ability to sweat out the heat while running gave them remarkable endurance, but a serious vulnerability to cold climates. > > Also, they started hunting by running down large animals that could not escape except by running, and eventually lost the race from exhaustion. Both of those things are conjecture. We are not sure what the cause was for our losing our hair, or even if there was just one cause. Modern hunter gatherers do often use cursorial hunting, but that is not proof that cursorial hunting was how we, as a species, got into the hunting business. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-benefits-to-humans-moving-out-of-africa-into-cold-areas/823690.md?page=4)