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Humans

Ancient camp shows how humans adapted to extreme cold in Europe

An Austrian site occupied by humans from around 24,000 to 20,000 years ago documents a switch towards hunting reindeer for their fur, which may have helped people to endure harsh winters during the last glacial period

By Taylor Mitchell Brown

25 April 2025

Reindeer fur would have helped ancient humans endure the climate of the last glacial maximum

Esteban De Armas/Shutterstock

An open-air site in Austria occupied by humans during the coldest part of the last glacial period may have been dedicated to hunting reindeer for pelts, showing how people adapted to extreme temperatures in Europe.

The site, called Kammern-Grubgraben, was heavily occupied from around 24,000 to 20,000 years ago and contains the largest abundance of tools, ornaments, artefacts and stone structures in Europe during the cold and unforgiving most recent glacial maximum. At this time, the mean annual temperature…

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