500,000-Year-Old Signs of Extinct Human Species Found in Poland Cave

Prehistoric stone tools found in a cave in Poland 50 years ago were recentlyidentified as some of the oldest ever discovered in the region.

The tools from the Tunel Wielki cave in Małopolska are between 450,000 and 550,000 years old. This dating may allow scientists to learn more about the humans who made them, and their migration and habitation in Central Europe across prehistory.

For example, the timeframe likely means that the tools were made by extinct human species Homo heidelbergensis, usually considered the last common ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans (us). And it means the region was inhabited by humans at a time that Central Europe's harsh climate would have required significant physical and cultural adjustment.

https://www.sciencealert.com/500000-year-old-signs-of-extinct-human-species-found-in-poland-cave

H. Heidelbergensis got around. The oldest stone axes found in Britain were discovered in layers from this same time period, so it was likely warmer and a lot less harsh or both areas would have been buried in ice.