Sedimentary DNA recovered from the floor of the North Sea is revealing that Doggerland—once a vast landmass that connected Britain to continental Europe—supported a prehistoric forest ecosystem much earlier than scientists had believed. Genetic material from oak, elm, hazel, and lime shows that woodlands established themselves thousands of years ahead of previous estimates. The detection of Pterocarya, a member of the walnut family thought to have vanished from the region more than 400,000 years ago, indicates the tree survived in small “micro-refuges” far longer than expected. Together, the findings point to a milder microclimate and a more complex ecosystem than prior models had predicted, according to WIRED.
The new genetic data sharpen the picture of a landscape that emerged as a broad plain after the last glacial maximum about 20,000 years ago, when sea levels fell dramatically. As the climate warmed and oceans rose, the plain began to erode around 10,000 years ago. Final submergence occurred roughly 8,000 years ago; some portions remained above water until about 7,000 years ago before being entombed beneath silt, according to Nature World News. Within that shrinking environment, the forests appear to have provided a critical source of food and shelter for early human communities.
Evidence from the seabed
Evidence from the seabed includes tools and harpoons fashioned from bone and horn—artifacts of Mesolithic activity that align with the newly reconstructed picture of a resource-rich woodland supporting people well before the timeframe researchers once assumed. Researchers analyzing these ancient sediments say the sweeping environmental reconstruction is possible because DNA preserved in silts and sands documents the plants that anchored Doggerland’s ecosystems as sea levels rose. That same record includes traces of tree species previously believed to have disappeared locally some 400,000 years ago, consistent with the survival of Pterocarya in small pockets. Experts characterize Doggerland as a place where life could persist amid Europe’s Ice Age conditions, providing a favorable refuge for both flora and human groups earlier than previously thought.
The recovered artifacts help trace a human presence dating back thousands of years, including a 9,000-year-old human jawbone discovered in 2015. Fishermen have periodically netted objects from the lost landscape, hinting at a broader archaeological archive scattered beneath the sandbanks and channels.