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The Middle of the Earth, one of the twelve divisions of the globe, encompasses Africa down to its subcontinent, the lands and seas of the Mediterranean Basin and the Red Sea, the Canary Islands, and the Cape Verde Islands.
The northwestern boundary extends from south-central Germany along the Swiss border, encompassing all Swiss cities except Basel. It then separates southern France from northern France, continues through Spain, and divides Portugal at Setúbal, marking a north-south division within both countries. The boundary then extends into the Atlantic Ocean, where it distinguishes Madeira (a Portuguese territory) from the Canary Islands (ruled by Spain).
The northeastern boundary separates Alpine Austria from the rest of the country, then moves through the Balkans, roughly following the borders between:
- Hungary and Slovenia,
- Serbia and Croatia,
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo,
- Bulgaria and North Macedonia,
- Turkey-in-Europe and Greece.
From there, the line continues through western Turkey and Cyprus, dividing Syria and most of Lebanon from Israel and most of Jordan, and marking the separation between western and eastern Arabia.
The southeastern boundary follows the historic division between North and South Yemen, then extends through eastern Africa, delineating Mozambique from Zambia.
HistoryAtlas contains 18,610 entries for the Middle of The Earth from the Paleolithic period to 1899.Narrow results by searching for a word or phrase or select from one or more of a dozen filters.
The Atlantic World, a pentagonal region encompassing one twelfth of the Earth, includes the Azores, Madeira, northwestern Europe (including western Denmark and western Norway), the British Isles, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, eastern and central North America, the northern section of Hispaniola, and several smaller island groups, notably Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos.
The eastern boundary, marked at 10° east longitude, divides Scandinavia into Eastern and Western sections, with Western Scandinavia oriented toward the North Atlantic and Eastern Scandinavia centered on the Baltic Sea Basin. This boundary also aligns with the historical eastern border of West Germany (1949–1990), before terminating in south-central Germany at its junction with the neighboring region to the southeast.
The western boundary, at 110° west longitude, cuts through Canada, separating the northern districts of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories from Alberta and Saskatchewan, approximately 75 miles south of the Alberta-Saskatchewan-Montana junction (48.1896851°N)—the northernmost point of the neighboring world to the southwest.
The southwestern boundary follows the division between the upper and lower Mississippi River Basin, then extends eastward into the Atlantic Ocean just south of Jacksonville, Florida, before terminating in northwestern Hispaniola.
HistoryAtlas contains 18,139 entries for The Atlantic World from the Paleolithic period to 1899.Narrow results by searching for a word or phrase or select from one or more of a dozen filters.
Homo antecessor is an extinct human species (or subspecies) that lived between 1.2 million and 800,000 years ago. It was first identified by Eudald Carbonell, Juan Luis Arsuaga, and J. M. Bermúdez de Castro.
One of the earliest known human species in Europe, H. antecessor is thought to have followed a developmental trajectory similar to Homo sapiens, based on tooth eruption patterns—though likely at a faster pace.
Distinctive anatomical features of H. antecessor include:
- A protruding occipital bun,
- A low forehead, and
- The absence of a strong chin.
Some of its skeletal remains are almost indistinguishable from those of the 1.5-million-year-old Turkana Boy, a fossil attributed to Homo ergaster.
To date, the only known fossils of H. antecessor have been discovered at two sites in the Sierra de Atapuerca region of northern Spain: Gran Dolina and Sima del Elefante.
Eighty fossils of six individuals that may have belonged to the species Homo antecessor will be found in 1994 and 1995 in Spain’s Atapuerca Mountains.
Numerous examples of cuts where the flesh had been flensed from the bones indicate that H. antecessor could have practiced cannibalism.
The best-preserved fossil of Homo antecessor is a maxilla that belonged to a ten-year-old individual found in Spain.
Based on paleomagnetic measurements, it is thought to be older than seven hundred and eighty thousand to eight hundred and fifty seven thousand years ago.
With a brain averaging one thousand cubic centimeters in volume. H. antecessor is about one point eight to one point six meters meters (five to six feet) tall, and males weigh roughly ninety kilograms (two hundred pounds).
Their brain sizes are roughly one thousand to eleven hundred and fifty cubic centimeters, smaller than the thirteen hundred and fifty cubic centimeter average found in modern humans.
Due to its scarcity, very little more is known about the physiology of H. antecessor, yet it is likely to have been more robust than H. heidelbergensis.
According to Juan Luis Arsuaga, one of the co-directors of the excavation in Burgos, H. antecessor might have been right-handed, a trait that makes the species different from the other apes.
This hypothesis is based on tomography techniques.
Arsuaga also claims that the frequency range of audition is similar to H. sapiens, which makes him believe that H. antecessor used a symbolic language and was able to reason.
The Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) sees many changes in the environment, encompassing several glacial and interglacial periods that greatly affect human settlement.
In addition to populations in Europe expanding from southern refugia (especially the Franco-Cantabrian region) after the last glacial maximum, evidence also exists for various northern refugia.
Southern and eastern Britain are linked to continental Europe at this time by a wide land bridge allowing bands of hunter-gatherers to move freely, following herds of animals, or supporting themselves by fishing.
The current position of the English Channel is a large river flowing westwards and fed by tributaries that will later become the Thames and Seine.
The fossil was discovered by archeologist Italo Biddittu and was nicknamed "Ceprano Man" after a nearby town in the province of Frosinone, eighty-nine kilometers southeast of Rome, Italy.
The age of the fossil is estimated to be between three hundred and fifty thousand to five hundred thousand years old.
An adjacent site, Fontana Ranuccio, was dated to 487,000 +/- 6000 years and Muttoni, et al., suggest that Ceprano is most likely four hundred and fifty thousand years old.
The cranial features on the bone seem to be intermediate between those found on Homo erectus and those of later species such as Homo heidelbergensis, which dominated Europe long before Homo neanderthalensis.
There is yet not enough material to make a complete analysis of the individual.
The Moderns are taller, more slender, and less muscular than the Neanderthals, with whom they share—perhaps uneasily—the Earth.
Though their brains are smaller in overall size, they are heavier in the forebrain, a difference that may allow for more abstract thought and the development of complex speech.
Yet, the inner world of the Neanderthals remains a mystery—no one knows the depths of their thoughts or how they truly expressed them.
The rapid expansion of anatomically modern humans out of Africa, beginning around 60,000 years ago, appears to coincide with the development of new stone tool-making techniques.
These innovations, which define the Upper Paleolithic period, distinguish the stone tool culture of Homo sapiens sapiens from the previously similar technologies of Neanderthals and other archaic human groups.
Key advancements include:
- The production of long, narrow flake tools, known as blades, which could be fashioned into a variety of specialized tools,
- The emergence of bone and ivory artifacts, and
- The eventual development of clothing, often sewn together and adorned with beads.
These technological advancements likely played a crucial role in the success and adaptability of early modern humans as they spread across new environments.
The fearsome cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) likely became extinct around 27,800 years ago, according to recent fossil reassessments.
Rather than a single cause, a combination of factors is believed to have led to its extinction. While overhunting by humans has largely been dismissed—since human populations at the time were too small to pose a significant threat—evidence suggests that cave bears and humans may have competed for shelter, particularly in caves.
Mitochondrial DNA research indicates that the cave bear's genetic decline began long before its extinction, ruling out climate change-induced habitat loss as the direct cause. However, a recent DNA study suggests that cave bear populations started declining around 50,000 years ago, coinciding with an increase in human populations.
Unlike its close relative, the brown bear, the cave bear was highly dependent on a vegetarian diet, making it less adaptable to environmental changes. Additionally, evidence suggests that cave bears exclusively used caves for hibernation, unlike brown bears, which could hibernate in thickets or other natural shelters. This specialized hibernation behavior likely contributed to high winter mortality when suitable caves were unavailable.
As human populations gradually expanded, both Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans increasingly occupied caves as living quarters, reducing the availability of essential hibernation sites for cave bears. Over time, this competition for shelter may have contributed to their gradual extinction.
Interestingly, cave bears are rarely depicted in prehistoric cave paintings, leading some researchers to speculate that human hunters may have avoided them, or that their habitat preferences simply did not overlap with early human settlements.
Cultural practices associated with modern humans—such as the careful burial of the dead, the creation of elaborate cave art, and the decoration of everyday objects—emerge during this period, reflecting an increasing sense of ritual, symbolism, and aesthetic expression.