An international team of researchers used bones found in lumps of rock from a cave near Johannesburg in South Africa to reconstruct one of the most complete back fossils of any hominin.
It was similarities in stone artefacts that had previously led many archaeologists to the belief that the first peoples of America migrated from Japan some 15,000 years ago.
Archaeology: Modern Japanese populations descended from THREE ancient cultures, not two as thought dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The α-actinin-3 protein, found in fast-twitch fibres , is absent in 1 in 5 people
Volunteers sat down in cold 14°C water while scientists examined their muscles
70 per cent of those without the protein could hold their temperature in the cold
Just 3 out of 10 of those that had the same protein were able to maintain their temperature when scientists had them immersed in cold water
They found that they kept the tools and in place despite environment changes
This suggests they were able to adapt to very different climates over time
The researchers say this adaptability could have helped in future migrations
Early humans living two million years ago already had the skills and tools they needed in order to cope with the effects of climate change, study shows.
Archaeologists from the Max Planck Institute studied changes to the environment and habitats of early hominins at the Oldupai Gorge heritage site in Tanzania.
ADVERTISEMENT
Also known as the Cradle of Humankind , new field work at the site revealed our ancestors remained stable despite environment changes over 200,000 years.