200,000 years earlier! Yes, Humans may have colonized northern Europe much earlier than thought and that too, 200,000 years. And humans were there at least 700,000 years ago, — if they were so-called humans. Stone tools found in eastern England suggest this. But, the species has yet, not been determined. The team member Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London claims that it’s an early form of Homo heidelbergensis or Homo antecessor.
Known to have been present in central Europe, the Homo heidelbergensis existed about 500,000 years ago. Bones were first discovered in 1907 near Heidelberg, Germany, and have since been found in France and Greece. That the Hominin remains about 800,000 years old that have been found in Spain and Italy indicates that early humans had colonized southern Europe by this time. Though classed as another species, arguments remained over the early humans — H. antecessor, over whether it is a really separate species to H. heidelbergensis.
Via: New Scientist