Neandertals were the first hominids to turn forest into grassland 125,000 years ago
Neandertals’ campfires, hunting and other activities altered the land over a 2,000-year span
Two excavations at a German site, including the one shown here, produced evidence indicating that Neandertals’ campfires and other activities had transformed the local landscape from forested to largely open around 125,000 years ago.
Wil Roebroeks/Leiden University