Fossilized footprints of Homo heidelbergensis (Heidelberg people), about 300,000 years old, discovered at the Schöningen Paleolithic site in Lower Saxony, Germany, are the oldest known human tracks in the country. They appear to capture a mixed- age group, likely a family, walking along the muddy shore of a prehistoric lake amid tracks of large animals.

These findings come from a 2023 study in Quaternary Science Reviews by an international team led by researchers from the University of Tübingen and the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment.

The three hominin footprints (one larger, attributed to an adult; two smaller ones consistent with juveniles or children, roughly corresponding to modern shoe sizes around 37, 33, and 27) were found at the Schöningen 13 II-2 Untere Berme locality. Researchers interpret them as evidence of a family outing or mixed-age group foraging or using the lakeshore resources, rather than a hunting party of adults.

The site preserves a vivid snapshot of the Middle Pleistocene ecosystem: an open landscape of birch and pine woodland with grassy understory around a shallow lake (a few kilometers long).

Herds of the extinct straight- tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus (the largest land animal of the time, with adult bulls up to ~13 tons and footprints up to 55 cm long) gathered there, along with rhinoceroses (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis or S. hemitoechus, the first European footprint of these species), deer, and other even- toed ungulates.

The humans likely visited for plants, fruits, leaves, shoots, mushrooms, drinking, or bathing in the shallow water, consistent with patterns at other Lower and Middle Pleistocene footprint sites.

Schöningen is already famous for its exceptional preservation (including the well- known wooden spears and other artifacts associated with early human activity in the region).

No hominin skeletal remains have been found there, but the age, tools, and context point to late Homo heidelbergensis (a possible ancestor or close relative of Neanderthals and modern humans, living roughly 700,000- 200,000 years ago).

The footprints provide rare direct evidence of movement, social composition (mixed ages), and coexistence with megafauna in a shared lakeshore environment.

Homo heidelbergensis (named after a jawbone found near Heidelberg, Germany) is generally viewed as evolving from earlier Homo forms (related to H. erectus/H. ergaster) in Africa during the Middle Pleistocene.

Fossils assigned to the species or close relatives appear in Africa by around 600,000- 700,000 years ago (or earlier in some interpretations).

By roughly 500,000 years ago (and possibly earlier), populations were present in Europe.

They are often considered a key Middle Pleistocene species that may represent (or be closely related to) the last common ancestors of Neanderthals (and Denisovans) in Eurasia and modern humans in Africa.

Note that the exact species boundaries are debated, “H. heidelbergensis” is sometimes used broadly (sensu lato) for similar fossils across continents, or more narrowly for European forms, with African material sometimes called H. rhodesiensis.

Evidence indicates they lived and worked in cooperative groups.

Sites show organized hunting of large animals (such as horses, rhinos, and other big game), which required coordination, planning, and likely communication. This is supported by butchered animal remains associated with tools, as well as inferences from group composition at sites like Schöningen (the same German locality as the ~300,000-year-old footprints discussed earlier, which included mixed- age individuals consistent with family or cooperative groups).

Cooperative behaviors are also inferred from care for injured or elderly individuals in the broader hominin record and from the demands of big- game hunting.

Evidence for hafted stone spearheads (stone points fixed to wooden shafts with adhesives or bindings) is more limited and debated for this exact timeframe.

Some studies suggest possible early hafting or stone- tipped spears around 500,000 years ago in Africa, but the clearest European wooden spears (like Schöningen) appear to have been primarily all- wood weapons rather than regularly set with stone points. Later groups (including early Neanderthals) refined composite tools. Fire use and more complex planning are also associated with them.

In the context of the Schöningen footprints (~300,000 years ago), these traits fit well: a mixed- age group of H. heidelbergensis (or a late form transitional toward early Neanderthals) on a lakeshore shared with elephants and rhinos, in an environment where hunting, foraging, and tool use were part of daily life.

The species (or closely related populations) shows increasing behavioral sophistication compared to earlier hominins, bridging toward the capabilities of Neanderthals and modern humans.

Homo heidelbergensis populations began expanding out of Africa into Eurasia roughly 850,000- 600,000 years ago (with some models placing the start of significant migration around 885- 865 ka).

By about 600,000 years ago they were established in Europe, including central and northern regions such as Germany. The type specimen (Mauer mandible, near Heidelberg) dates to ~609 ± 40 ka during a warm interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage/MIS 15). Later sites like Schöningen in northern Germany (~300,000 years ago, associated with MIS 9) preserve clear evidence of their presence.

Europe’s climate during the time of H. heidelbergensis (~670- 200 ka overall presence) was highly variable, alternating between warm interglacials and cold glacials:

Interglacial periods (e.g., MIS 15 at Mauer, parts of MIS 11 and MIS 9): Temperate to warm- temperate conditions, often milder and more humid than today in some reconstructions. Landscapes featured open forests, forest- steppe, birch/pine woodlands with grassy understories, and lakeshores. Summer temperatures could be similar to or slightly cooler/warmer than modern values depending on the phase; winters were generally milder than full glacials. Fauna included large herbivores such as elephants, rhinos, horses, and deer.

Glacial or cooler transitional periods: Colder, drier, more continental climates with steppe, open grassland, or boreal forest- steppe vegetation. Glaciers expanded in northern Europe (e.g., Elsterian glaciation around ~450 ka covered large parts of Germany). Winters could be significantly colder (reconstructions for some phases show winters ~2°C or more colder than today), with greater seasonality. At Schöningen (~300 ka, late MIS 9 into cooler phases), conditions included cooler steppe phases with mild summers but colder winters, willow/birch swamp forests near lakes, and surrounding steppe with scattered pine/larch.

Climate variability strongly shaped their dispersal, survival, and evolution:

Migration and habitat expansion: Astronomically forced changes in temperature, rainfall, and plant productivity (net primary production) drove them to become more mobile “global wanderers.” They crossed wide climatic gradients (from high African productivity to much lower Eurasian values), requiring greater adaptability than earlier, more stationary African populations. Warm/humid phases facilitated northward and westward movement into Europe; cold/arid phases created barriers or forced retreats/refugia.

Adaptations and behavioral changes: Encountering colder, more seasonal European climates (with winter cold stress and fluctuating resources) selected for technological and social innovations. These included refined stone tools (Acheulean hand axes), wooden spears and throwing sticks (e.g., Schöningen), likely use of fire, possible early clothing or shelters, cooperative big- game hunting, and mixed- age group living. Such adaptations helped them exploit lakeshores, forests, and steppes for plants, mushrooms, and large mammals. Greater environmental resilience is evident compared to earlier Homo, though they still preferred temperate over extreme cold conditions.

Evolutionary consequences: In Europe, repeated climatic stress from ice- age cycles (especially eccentricity- modulated ones) contributed to the gradual transformation of local H. heidelbergensis populations into Neanderthals (~400- 300 ka). Concurrently, antiphased climate disruptions in southern Africa and Eurasia are linked to the divergence toward Homo sapiens in Africa. Overall, climate acted as a major driver of habitat suitability, population movements, and speciation during this period.

In short, H. heidelbergensis left Africa during a time of intensifying climate swings and thrived in Europe’s fluctuating temperate- to -cool environments by expanding their ecological niche and developing more sophisticated behaviors.

Sites in Germany like Mauer (warm interglacial) and Schöningen (cooler lakeshore settings with elephants and rhinos) illustrate this adaptability.

Climate was not just a backdrop, it actively influenced where they lived, how they survived, and how their lineages evolved.