An archaeology breakthrough has discovered that humans inhabited rainforests around 150,000 years ago, a staggering 80,000 years earlier than previously believed.

       This revelation comes from an international team of researchers who revisited an archaeological site in West Africa. The site had stone tools, including picks and smaller retouched implements.

       Lead author Eslem Ben Arous said: "Before our study, the oldest secure evidence for habitation in African rainforests was around 18 thousand years ago, and the oldest evidence of rainforest habitation anywhere came from southeast Asia at about 70,000 years ago.

       "This pushes back the oldest known evidence of humans in rainforests by more than double the previously known estimate."

       While it is known that humans first emerged in Africa approximately 300,000 years ago before spreading worldwide, the impact of the environments inhabited by our ancient ancestors on our evolution remains uncertain.

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       The research team suggested that rainforests have been largely disregarded as a potential backdrop for the evolution of our species, as they are traditionally viewed as barriers to human settlement.

       In their research, Ben Arous and her team delved into a site known as "Bete I" in present-day Cote d'Ivoire.

       The site was initially unearthed in 1982 by an Ivorian-Soviet team led by archaeology professor Yode Guede from the Universite Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who also participated in the recent study.

       The original excavation, which continued into the early nineties, revealed layers containing stone tools within what is now a rainforest area. These tools were unfortunately lost during the Second Ivorian Civil War in 2011.

       The new esearch on quartz grains from the strata where stone tools were found indicates they were laid down around 150,000 years ago.

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       By analysing pollen, leaf wax, and fossilised plant remains known as "phytoliths" in soil samples from the excavation, scientists concluded that during the era of early human habitation, the area was densely forested.

       The minimal grass pollen found also corroborates the idea that the site was situated within extensive woodlands.

       These discoveries raise questions about how life in rainforests may have influenced our ancestors and how they might have altered these environments

       Co-author Eleanor Scerri said: "Convergent evolution shows beyond doubt that ecological diversity sits at the heart of our species. This reflects a complex history of population subdivision, in which different populations lived in different regions and habitat types.

       "We now need to ask how these early human niche expansions impacted the plants and animals that shared the same niche-space with humans. In other words: how far back does the human alteration of pristine natural habitats go?"