Our ancestors lived on shaky ground

Scientists find link between tectonically active landscapes and ancient sites

Our earliest ancestors preferred to settle in locations that have something in common with cities such as San Francisco, Naples and Istanbul – they are often on active tectonic faults in areas that have an earthquake risk or volcanoes, or both.

An international team of scientists has established a link between the shape of the landscape and the habitats preferred by our earliest ancestors. The research, by scientists at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, the University of York and the Institut de Physique du Globe Paris (IPGP), is published in the March 2011 issue of the Journal of Human Evolution.

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