Somehow, H. erectus was able to adjust to this new landscape. The early humans visited water holes that popped up after it rained and hunted the animals that congregated to drink. And across millennia, they repeatedly inhabited the same sites near rivers and streams, strategically taking advantage of the resources they offered.

To reconstruct the environmental conditions during the time of Homo erectus, the research team used advanced modeling techniques.

Our ancestor Homo erectus was able to survive punishingly hot and dry desert more than a million years ago, according to a new study that casts doubt on the idea that Homo sapiens were the first humans capable of living in such hostile terrain.

A million years ago, a species known as Homo erectus most likely survived in an arid desert with no trees. By Carl Zimmer Chimpanzees live only in African rainforests and woodlands. Orangutans live only in the jungles of Indonesia.

Learn more about how Homo erectus may have adapted to dryer, arid conditions before Homo sapiens.

A new study revealed that our ancestor Homo erectus survived extreme desert conditions over a million years ago, challenging the belief that Homo

Homo erectus was able to adapt to and survive in desert-like environments at least 1.2 million years ago, according to a paper published in Communications Earth & Environment. The findings suggest that behavioral adaptations included returning repeatedly over thousands of years to specific rivers and ponds for fresh water,