OOA Routes: Gibraltar (Post 2)

This is the second post in my series on the possible routes used by hominins (from Homo erectus to modern humans) for their out of Africa (OOA) migration, and, why not, for potential "Into" Africa migrations. Today's post covers the Gibraltar Strait.

Post 1: Where was the Out of Africa Corridor?
Post 2: OOA Routes: Gibraltar
Post 3: OOA Routes: Strait of Sicily
Post 4: OOA Routes: Sinai
Post 5: OOA Routes: Bab-el-Mandeb

Gibraltar

The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait set between the southern tip of Spain and Gibraltar on the northern, European side, and Ceuta and Morocco on the southern, African side.

It is roughly 25 km long (16 mi.) and 14 km wide (almost 9 miles) and serves as a waterway linking the Atlantic Ocean on the west with the Mediterranean Sea on the east. It is quite deep, ranging from 300 to 900 meters (980 to 2,950 ft.)

Two tectonic plates meet here, the African and the European plates, and the movement of both plates led to the closure of an older strait that preceded Gibrlatar, the Betian Strait 5.96 Million years ago, sealing the Mediterranean off, cutting the inflow of water from the Atlantic Ocean. Evaporation over the next 600,000 years led to the drying out of the Mediterranean, with deserts and salt flats covering its barren former seabed (Messinian salinity crisis). Later, rifting along the plates' edges led to the formation of the current strait, and the catastrophic flooding that followed, refilled the Mediterranean basin (Zanclean Flood).

The strait is a continuous body of water, the coast of Europe can be seen from Morocco, and vice versa. Possibly enticing hominins to set out and cross it.

Tne idea was first suggested by Paul Pallary (1869-1942) in 1909, when he proposed that a type of stone industry was shared on both sides of the strait some 25,000 years ago, he called it "Iberomaurusian". This was taken up by Obermaier (1924) who applied it to a "Capsio Tardenoisian" culture, the former in Africa, the latter in Europe. In his work, Obermaier wrote: "Old Stone Age. First invasion — from Africa. The primitive Chellean and Acheulean industries in stone spread from Egypt over northern Africa and through Spain into western Europe. At a later cultural stage, the Mousterian, which constitutes a further evolution of the two earlier cultures (its beginning estimated at 40,000 B.C.), fossil remains of men of the Neanderthal Race are found in Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Jugo-Slavia, and Czecho-Slovakia. The Heidelberg Race, remains of which are found in Germany, is probably ancestral to this race and may have been contemporaneous with the Pre-Chellean culture ; no trace of it has yet been found in Spain."

Spanish historian and archaeologist Luis Pericot Garcí in the 1940s and 1950s incorporated the notion to his Aterian (north Africa) and Soultrean (Europe) common culture he "organized a crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar by raft—a crossing that proved more difficult than anticipated and could not be completed. He even believed that connections might have existed between Africa and Spain as early as the Lower Paleolithic, a theory potentially supported by the presence of numerous cleavers and other Acheulean artifacts of African character in the Iberian Peninsula."

Finally, Henriette Alimen (1900-1996) explored the potential crossings from Acheulean Africa to Europe via Gibraltar and the Tunisia-Sicily strait.

Modern scholars do not agree with any of these theories.

Stepping stones for an easy crossing

The image above (Fig 2. in Gibert Beotas, 2003) displays the current coasts of Africa and Spain at Gibraltar, and how it would look with a lower sea level after it droped 150 meters (492 ft.) Islands appear on the western side of the Strait. Gibert Beotas calculates that the distance is reduced to half, from 14 km to 5 plus 2 km, island hopping.

Straus, 2001 noted that a lower sea level would make some of the seabed appear on the surface: "several small islands would appear within the Strait in the sector between Paloma Point and Tangiers whenever sea fell further than 100 m below its present level, making for several short water crossings, none greater than ca. 5 km if this (western) route were to have been taken. The distances would have been even shorter under full glacial conditions, with sea-level regression of 120-130 m"

Regarding the crossing, Flemming, 2003 points out that "To the west of the narrowest part of the Strait a group of substantial shoals become large islands at glacial low sea level, and these were visible vegetated land masses, completely changing the appearance of the Strait from either shore. The length of the Strait itself was increased, and the archipelago provided a stepping stone and safety net to anyone seeking to cross."

Straus cites (see the article here too) who suggested that Lower Pleistocene hominids like Homo ergaster could have crossed at Gibraltar around 1.8 to 1.6 Million years ago when it was only 6.5 km wide during the Aullen marine transgression.

Straus concludes that it is unlikely that early Homo crossed the strait put it is "somewhat plausible" but any later contact is discarded during the Middle Pleistocene. Only, during the Upper Pleistocene did modern humans cross the strait, navigating across it.

Proof

Gibert Beotas aruges that ancient stone tools discovered in Orce, South Eastern Spain (Andalusia), knapped using Oldowan techniques, and dated to 1.4 Million years ago, are possibly the work of hominins who used the Gibraltar crossing, instead of taking the longer route across the Levant, Anatolia, the Balkans and eastern Europe, central Europe and then into Iberia.

There is evidence of animals crossing the straits since Miocene times, a two-way exchange between Europe and Africa. Humans could have done the same. Another fact to bear in mind is that hominins did cross open stretches of sea to reach Luzon in the Philippines, and Flores in Indonesia.

Arribas and Palmqvist, 1999 (see the article here too) argue that "crossing large rivers and mountainous chains, with adaptations to different vegetation zones and to broader ranges of temperature and rainfall, and a simultaneous colonization of Europe through Gibraltar, perhaps Sicily, and the Eastern Mediterranean helps to explain the presence in several north circummediterranean sites of Spain (Orce), Italy (Pirro Nord), Greece (Apollonia)and Georgia (Dmanisi) of certain African species of large mammals which have not been found, at present, in Central Europe during Lower Pleistocene times, such as M. whitei, whose dispersal seems to have been limited up to the 40°N parallel"

They included the following map in their research paper:

Animals like wild boars found in North Africa and Spain share a common genetic origin. Soria-Boix, 2017 wrote that "Contacts across the Strait of Gibraltar in the Pleistocene have been studied in different research papers, which have demonstrated that this apparent barrier has been permeable to human and fauna movements in both directions. Our study, based on the genetic analysis of wild boar (Sus scrofa), suggests that there has been contact between Africa and Europe through the Strait of Gibraltar in the Late Pleistocene (at least in the last 90,000 years), as shown by the partial analysis of mitochondrial DNA. Cytochrome b and the control region from North African wild boar indicate a close relationship with European wild boar, and even some specimens belong to a common haplotype in Europe. The analyses suggest the transformation of the wild boar phylogeography in North Africa by the emergence of a natural communication route in times when sea levels fell due to climatic changes, and possibly through human action, since contacts coincide with both the Last Glacial period and the increasing human dispersion via the strait."

Last July I posted about The common ancestor of Denisovans, Neanderthals and Humans, citing a paper by Hublin, 2026 who mentioned that "The Spanish and Moroccan fossils share several features in their teeth and mandibles. Both groups display a combination of archaic and derived features reminiscent of later hominins... These similarities revive the question of possible exchanges across the Strait of Gibraltar during the EP."

Comments

The crossing is feasible, short, and was done by animals over the course of the past few million years. There are fossils in Spain and Morocco that suggest an exchange between Africa and Europe (possibly both ways). This could be one of the corridors used by hominins to people the world either from Eurasia into Africa, or the other way round.

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Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2026 by Austin Whittall © 

Where was the Out of Africa corridor? (post 1)

The African origin of modern humans, and all hominins (including Homo erectus and other Eurasian hominins) implies that they originated there, descending from the great apes of that continent (i.e. Chimpanzees) and later migrated out of Africa into the Old World, and much more recently, via Berigia, into the Americas.

But, which was the course the ancient hominins that led to erectus, the later ones leading to Neanderthals and Denisovans, and finally those leading to us, took to move out of Africa? Which was the route?

In fact there is no certainty on this matter, and more than one route have been proposed for the Out Of Africa migration. These routes are shown below, in a map of Africa and the closest points that separate it from Eurasia. These are, from west to east, Gibraltar, the Strait of Sicily, Sinai, and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

The "out of" and "into" Africa routes for hominin migration. Copyright © 2026 by Austin Whittall

These routes were proposed by anthropologists because they are feasible. It is easier to cross 10 km of water via Gibraltar, where you can see the European coast from Morocco in North Africa than setting sail from Egypt northwards into an open sea without knowing what lies ahead. This can be said about the other two crossings (Straits of Sicily and Bab-el-Mandeb), where the stepping stones across the Red Sea and the Mediterranean are visible from the coast of Africa.

Feasibility also implies that the water can be navigated. In fact, Homo erectus crossed open stretches of sea 800,000 years ago in Indonesia, and also to reach Crete. This suggests that they had seafaring abilities.

Another factor is that animals seem to have been able to negotiate with these sea crossings, so one would expect humans could do the same.

The final argument is the similarity, or continuity of certain stone knapping technologies on both sides of the gap, suggesting a population bridging the gap during a migration. This is something seen in the Levant, where archaics and even modern humans are found in Israel (Levant).

Two way routes

The fact that they were used to exit Africa (the articles I cite are all formal ones, and they uphold the African origin of hominins and modern humans) does not mean they were used in the opposite direction, for "Into Africa" migrations.

Neanderthal alleles have been found in Africa, sourced from Eurasia; and it is possible that Homo erectus originated in Eurasia and migrated into Africa, or that modern humans did the same, peopling Africa. It is possible that the common ancestor of chimpanzees, gorillas, and all homo species originated in Eurasia.

Over the next posts, I will describe each of these corridors, Gibraltar, Strait of Sicily, Sinai, and Bab-el-Mandeb.

This Series of Posts comprises the following posts

Post 1: Where was the Out of Africa Corridor?
Post 2: OOA Routes: Gibraltar
Post 3: OOA Routes: Strait of Sicily
Post 4: OOA Routes: Sinai
Post 5: OOA Routes: Bab-el-Mandeb

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Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2026 by Austin Whittall © 

Hominins that predate the Human-Denisovan-Neanderthal split , from Morocco

A paper published yesterday (January 7, 2026) in Nature investigated some fossil remains found in a site (Grotte à Hominidés) at a quarry in Morocco, not far from the city of Casablanca. They belong to hominds who appear to be "basal" to modern H. sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans. The authors date them to around 773,000 years ago and state that these remains reinforce "the case for an African rather than a Eurasian ancestry of H. sapiens."

This is the paper: Hublin, JJ., Lef&egravE;vre, D., Perini, S. et al. Early hominins from Morocco basal to the Homo sapiens lineage. Nature (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09914-y

This date is very close to the date when modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans split and went different ways, which is believed to have taken place between 550 and 765 thousand years ago.

The paper also suggests that they may be related to the Homo antecessor (TD6) whose remains have been found in Atapuerca, Spain, and whose remains have been dated to 950-770 ka. Though the Morccan remains and the Atapuerca fossils are similar, they also differ.

The Morocco fossils, named ThI-GH (from Thomas Quarry I, Grotte à Hominidés) combine modern and primitive traits. The site, excavated between 1994 and 2015 has produced Acheulean tools (typical of H. erectus), more primitive than the stone knapping techniques developed later by the Neanderthals.

The age of the remains

The authors analyzed the sediments in which the fossils were found, employing magnetostratigraphic tecniques that compare the sediments with the record of polarity reversals of the Earth's magnetic field, and found that "our analysis indicates hominin ages younger than 990 ka (top of Jaramillo) and close to the MBT at a nominal age of 773 ± 4 ka."

However, other tests find a younger age: "Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, performed in unit SU4 on cemented sands provided age estimates of 420 ± 34 ka and 391 ± 32 ka, of the same order as the ages obtained from OH2 to OH5. OSL ages appear to be inconsistent with the evidence that these formations belong to at least three glacioeustatic cycles and, for this reason, can be disputed. Combined electron-spin resonance (ESR) and U-series dating methods applied directly to an isolated hominin tooth from SU4 resulted in an estimated age of 501 ka +94 ka/−76 ka. The same method yielded ages ranging from 591 ± 103 ka to 538 ± 52 ka on three well-preserved herbivore teeth from SU4...

Below I quote the paper's relevant parts with my comments in brackets.

"These hominins cannot be directly compared with later specimens, such as the Kabwe or Bodo skulls, which have been tentatively assigned to H. heidelbergensis. Not only do these specimens differ substantially in age, but they also lack preservation of comparable anatomical parts. Our analysis suggests that the ThI-GH hominins probably belong to an evolved form of H. erectus sensu lato in North Africa, much as H. antecessor does in Europe.
[These hominins appear to be "evolved" Homo erectus - Homo antecessor group!]
However, the ThI-GH hominins offer an interesting contrast to both the Spanish fossils and the considerably older fossils from Tighennif (Algeria), which are likely to date to at least 1,000 ka. The fossil mandibles from Tighennif appear more primitive, larger and more robust than both the European H. antecessor and the northwest African ThI-GH fossils. The Spanish and Moroccan fossils share several features in their teeth and mandibles. Both groups display a combination of archaic and derived features reminiscent of later hominins. These similarities revive the question of possible exchanges across the Strait of Gibraltar during the EP. Nevertheless, the ThI-GH hominins are different from the TD6 hominins.
[Since the Strait of Gibraltar was breached by the sea during the Zanclean Flood about 5.33 million years ago (that eliminated the dry-land bridge between Europe and Africa as the Mediterranean basin filled up with water from the Atlantic, the "exchanges across the Strait of Gibraltar during the EP" or Early Pleistocene means that these people built watercraft to navigate the Strait of Gibraltar!]
The origin of H. sapiens, and the precise timing of the divergence of its ancestral populations from the Neanderthal–Denisovan clade, remain subjects of debate. Anatomical evidence has at times been used to argue for a split predating 800 ka and even for an alternative Asian ancestry of our species. In this context, the Maghreb fossils are key to understanding the diversification of MP [Mid Pleistocene] hominins. The morphology of the ThI-GH hominins places them close to the split between the African and Eurasian lineages. Our findings not only align with the phylogenetic structure inferred from palaeogenetic data but also highlight the Maghreb as a pivotal region for understanding the emergence of our species, reinforcing the case for an African rather than a Eurasian ancestry of H. sapiens."

The exchange across Gibraltar could be considered as an Out of Africa, for Homo erectus who entered Europe and evolved into Homo antecessor there, or probably a route into Africa from early hominins who (like those found in Dmanisi and the Caucasus) peopled Europe and returned via Spain to Africa across Gibraltar.

The authors seem intent on proving an African origin for "our species" and mention this twice in their paper. I am not so certain this paper suggestss an African origin for modern humans, it only describes hominins with an archaic-modern mossaic of features similar to those of H. erectus and H. antecessor, both of which are Eurasian!

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Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2026 by Austin Whittall © 

Aristotle, Carthaginians and America

Ancient Navigators Series

This post is part of a series on the Ancient Roman and Greek historians and geographers knowledge about America.

In Aristotle's de Mirabilibus Auscultationibus (Latin for: "of marvelous things heard") reported an incredible story:

"84. In the sea outside the Pillars of Heracles they say that a desert island was found by the Carthaginians, having woods of all kinds and navigable rivers, remarkable for all other kinds of fruits, and a few days' voyage away; as the Carthaginians frequented it often owing to its prosperity, and some even lived there,the chief of the Carthaginians announced that they would punish with death any who proposed to sail there, and that they massacred all the inhabitants, that they might not tell the story, and that a crowd might not resort to the island, and get possession of it, and take away the prosperity of the Carthaginians."

(Source)

There is no island beyond Gibraltar (Pillars of Heracles) with "navigable rivers", you would have to cross the Atlantic and reach America to find a river. Not in the Canaries, or Azores, or Madeira, neither in Cabo Verde Islands. Only in America.

For the record, Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath, his knowledge spanned many sciences and subjects from history to geography, economics to arts. His works are mostly lost, and have survived as quotes in surviving (yet later) texts. He was a disciple of Plato (the guy who invented or described Atlantis).

The text also mentions another strange land in the Atlantic:

"36 They say that Phoenicians who live in what is called Gades (Cadiz, Spain) , on sailing outside the Pillars of Heracles with an east wind for four days, came at once some desert lands, full of rushes and seaweed, which were not submerged when the tide ebbed, but were covered when the tide was full, upon which were found a quantity of tunny-fish, of incredible size and weight when brought to shore; pickling these and putting them into jars they brought them to Carthage. These alone the Carthaginians do not export, but owing to their value as food they consume them themselves."

Was this spot they reached after sailing for four days in America or along the coast of Africa?

The map above (source) shows the two distinct populations of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic, they breed separately, but feed together, they migrate from their spawning grounds in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean, and span the north-central Atlantic. It is possible that fishermen taken by sea currents could have discovered Cabral's "Volta do Mar" route to America.

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Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2025 by Austin Whittall © 

Gibraltar Neanderthal DNA sequenced: they are not the last survivors.

The DNA of two Neanderthal skulls discovered in Gibraltar has revealed their sex and their affinity with the "Older" Neanderthals such as Scladina Belgium and Russia (see my recent post on the "Old" and "New" Neanderthals) instead of more recent Neanderthals from Spain.

One skull, found in 1848 in Forbes' quarry, lacks the stratigraphic information to be able to date it correctly, and it was assumed to be recent, as Gibraltar is the southernmost part of the Iberian peninsula, and therefore the last bastion where Neanderthals managed to survive when modern Homo sapiens occupied their European range.

But, according to the paper (A genetic analysis of the Gibraltar Neanderthals, Lukas Bokelmann et al. PNAS first published July 15, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1903984116), this skull (also known as Gibraltar 1) is actually closer to the earlier Neanderthals than to the more recent ones:

"is genetically more similar to the ∼120,000-y-old Neanderthals from Scladina Cave in Belgium (Scladina I-4A) and Hohlenstein-Stadel Cave in Germany, as well as to a ∼60,000- to 70,000-y-old Neanderthal from Russia (Mezmaiskaya 1), than to a ∼49,000-y-old Neanderthal from El Sidrón (El Sidrón 1253) in northern Spain ".

The second skull belonged to a child, discovered in 1926. The study proved that he was a boy, but his DNA affinity was not mentioned.

DNA Tree Neanderthals. From the paper

As we can see there is "affinity" with the Scladina, Altai and HST branch but we can also see that it is also on the branch that led to all later Neanderthals.

What is really interesting is that these skulls had been handled by many people who left their human DNA on them (back in 1926 or THE 1800s nobody even dreamed of DNA) yet the scientists managed to remove it and focus only on the Neanderthal DNA. Also they found it in bones from a warm setting -heat tends to destroy ancient DNA. So that means that we can harbor hopes that DNA from hot settings in China or Africa can also be sequenced.

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Patagonian Monsters - Cryptozoology, Myths & legends in Patagonia Copyright 2009-2019 by Austin Whittall ©