List of countries and islands by first human settlement

Map of human migration, based on studies of mitochondrial (matrilinear) DNA.

Though fossils of hominids have been found dating back millions of years, the earliest known Homo sapiens remains are considered to be a group of bones found at the Omo Kibish Formation, near the Ethiopian Kibish Mountains. Though believed to be 130,000 years old at their discovery in 1967, recent studies have dated them as far back as 195,000 years old. From this area, humans spread out to cover all continents except Antarctica by 14,000 BP. According to a recent theory, humans may have crossed over into the Arabian Peninsula as early as 125,000 years ago. From the Middle East, migration continued into India around 70,000 years ago, and Southeast Asia shortly after. Settlers could have crossed over to Australia and New Guinea – that were united as one continent at the time due to lower sea levels – as early as 55,000 years ago. Migration into Europe took somewhat longer to occur; the first definite evidence of human settlement on this continent has been discovered in southern Italy, and dates back 43-45,000 years. Settlement of Europe may have occurred as early as 45,000 years ago though, according to genetic research. The Americas were populated by humans at least as early as 14,800 years ago, though there is great uncertainty about the exact time and manner in which the Americas were populated. More remote parts of the world, like Iceland, New Zealand and Madagascar were not populated until the historic era.

The following table shows any geographical region at some point defined as a country – not necessarily a modern-day sovereign state – or any geographically distinct area such as an island, with the date of the first known or hypothesised human settlement. Dates are, unless specifically stated, approximate. Settlements are not necessarily continuous; settled areas in some cases become depopulated due to environmental conditions, such as glacial periods or the Toba volcanic eruption. Where applicable, information is also given on the exact location where the settlement was discovered, and further information about the discovery. Some dates are based on genetic research (mitochondrial, or matrilinear DNA), and not on archaeological finds.

The list

Country	Date	Place	Notes	Ref(s)
Ethiopia	195,000 BP	Omo Kibish Formation	The Omo remains found in 1967 near the Ethiopian Kibish Mountains, have been dated as ca. 195,000 years old, making them the earliest human remains ever found. They are older than the remains found at Herto Bouri, Ethiopia (155-160,000 BP).
Morocco	90,000-190,000 BP	Jebel Irhoud	Anatomically modern human remains of uncertain date, 90-190,000 years old.
Sudan	140,000-160,000 BP	Singa	Anatomically modern human discovered 1924 with rare temporal bone pathology
Iran	150,000 BP	Ganj Par	About 150 stone artifacts,Discovery of Ganj Par thus indicates that Iran is part of the Acheulian territory	[1]
United Arab Emirates	125,000 BP	Jebel Faya	Stone tools made by anatomically modern humans.
South Africa	125,000 BP	Klasies River Caves	Remains found in the Klasies River Caves in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa show signs of human hunting. There is some debate as to whether these remains represent anatomically modern humans.
Palestine	100,000 BP	Skhul/Qafzeh	Discovered in 1929-1935; remains exhibit a mix of archaic and modern traits and may represent an early migration from Africa that died out by 80,000 years ago.
Oman	75,000-125,000 BP	Aybut	Tools found in the Dhofar Governorate correspond with African objects from the so-called 'Nubian Complex', dating from 75-125,000 years ago. According to archaeologist Jeffrey I. Rose, human settlements spread east from Africa across the Arabian Peninsula.
Democratic Republic of the Congo	90,000 BP	Katanda, Upper Semliki River	Semliki harpoon heads carved from bone.
India	70,000 BP	Jwalapuram, Andhra Pradesh	Recent finds of stone tools in Jwalapuram before and after the Toba supereruption, may have been made by modern humans, but this is disputed.
Philippines	67,000 BP	Callao Cave	Archaeologists, Dr. Armand Mijares with Dr. Phil Piper found bones in a cave near Peñablanca, Cagayan in 2010 have been dated as ca. 67,000 years old. It's the earliest human fossil ever found in Asia-Pacific
Libya	50,000-180,000 BP	Haua Fteah	Fragments of 2 mandibles discovered in 1953
Egypt	50,000-80,000 BP	Taramasa Hill	Skeleton of 8- to 10-year-old child discovered in 1994
Taiwan	50,000 BP	Chihshan Rock Site	Chipped stone tool similar to those of the Changpin culture on the east coast.
Brazil	41,000-56,000 BP	Pedra Furada	Charcoal from the oldest layers yielded dates of 41,000-56,000 BP.
Australia	48,000 BP	Devil's Lair	The oldest human skeletal remains are the 40,000-year-old Lake Mungo remains in New South Wales, but human ornaments discovered at Devil's Lair in Western Australia have been dated to 48,000 BP. Ochre fragments at Malakunanja II in Northern Territory are dated to ca. 45,000 BP.
Japan	47,000 BP	Lake Nojiri	Genetic research indicates arrival of humans in Japan by 37,000 BP. Archeological remains at the Tategahana Paleolithic Site at Lake Nojiri have been dated as early as 47,000 BP.
Laos	46,000 BP	Annamite Range	In 2009 an ancient skull was recovered from a cave in the Annamite Mountains in northern Laos which is at least 46,000 years old, making it the oldest modern human fossil found to date in Southeast Asia	.
Borneo	46,000 BP		(see Malaysia)
Greece	45,000 BP	Mount Parnassus	Geneticist Bryan Sykes identifies 'Ursula' as the first of The Seven Daughters of Eve, and the carrier of the mitochondrial haplogroup U. This hypothetical woman moved between the mountain caves and the coast of Greece, and based on genetic research represent the first human settlement of Europe.
Italy	43,000-45,000 BP	Grotta del Cavallo, Apulia	Two baby teeth discovered in Apulia in 1964 are the earliest modern human remains yet found in Europe.
Indonesia	45,000 BP		Early humans travelled by sea and spread from mainland Asia eastward to New Guinea and Australia
United Kingdom	41,500-44,200 BP	Kents Cavern	Human jaw fragment found in Torquay, Devon in 1927.
Germany	42,000-43,000 BP	Geißenklösterle, Baden-Württemberg	Three Paleolithic flutes belonging to the early Aurignacian, which is associated with the assumed earliest presence of Homo sapiens in Europe (Cro-Magnon). It is the oldest example of prehistoric music.
East Timor	42,000 BP	Jerimalai cave	Fish bones.
China	39,000-42,000 BP	Tianyuan Cave	Bones found in a cave near Beijing in 1958 have been radiocarbon dated at between 39-42,000 years old.
Tasmania	41,000 BP	Jordan River Levee	Optically stimulated luminescence results from the site suggest a date ca. 41,000 BP. Rising sea level left Tasmania isolated after 8000 BP.
Hong Kong	39,000 BP	Wong Tei Tung	Optically stimulated luminescence results from the site suggest a date ca. 39,000 BP.
Malaysia	34,000-46,000 BP	Niah Cave	A human skull in Sarawak, Borneo, has been dated to ca. 34-46,000 years ago. (Archeologists have claimed a much earlier date for stone tools found in the Mansuli valley, near Lahad Datu in Sabah, but precise dating analysis has not yet been published.)
New Guinea	40,000 BP	Indonesian Side of New Guinea	Archeological evidence shows that 40,000 years ago, some of the first farmers came to New Guinea from the South-East Asian Peninsula.
Romania	37,800-42,000 BP	Peștera cu Oase	Bones dated as 38–42,000 years old are among the oldest human remains found in Europe.
Sri Lanka	34,000 BP	Fa Hien Cave	The earliest remains of anatomically modern man, based on radiocarbon dating of charcoal, have been found in the Fa Hien Cave in western Sri Lanka.
Canada	25,000-40,000 BP	Bluefish Caves	Human-worked mammoth bone flakes found at Bluefish Caves, Yukon, are much older than the stone tools and animal remains at Haida Gwaii in British Columbia (10-12,000 BP) and indicate the earliest known human settlement in North America.
Okinawa	32,000 BP	Yamashita-cho cave, Naha city	Bone artifacts and an ash seam dated to 32,000±1000 BP.
France	32,000 BP	Chauvet Cave	The cave paintings in the Chauvet Cave in southern France have been called the earliest known cave art, though the dating is uncertain.
Czech Republic	31,000 BP	Mladeč	Oldest human bones that clearly represent a human settlement in Europe.
Poland	30,000 BP	Obłazowa Cave	A boomerang made from mammoth tusk.
Buka Island, New Guinea	28,000 BP	Kilu cave	Flaked stone, bone, and shell artifacts.
Russia	28,000-30,000 BP	Sungir	Burial site.
Portugal	24,500 BP	Abrigo do Lagar Velho	Possible Neanderthal/Cro-Magnon hybrid, the Lapedo child.
Sicily	20,000 BP	San Teodoro cave	Human cranium dated by gamma-ray spectrometry.
United States	16,000 BP	Meadowcroft Rockshelter	Stone, bone, and wood artifacts and animal and plant remains found in Washington County, Pennsylvania. (Earlier claims have been made, but not corroborated, for sites such as Topper, South Carolina.)
Chile	14,800 BP	Monte Verde	Carbon dating of remains from this site represent the oldest known settlement in South America.
Peru	14,000 BP	Pikimachay	Stone and bone artifacts found in a cave of the Ayacucho complex.
Santa Rosa Island	13,000 BP	Arlington Springs site	Arlington Springs Man discovered in 1959. The four northern Channel Islands of California were once conjoined into one island, Santa Rosae
Cyprus	12,500 BP	Aetokremnos	Burned bones of megafauna.
Colombia	12,400 BP	El Abra	Stone, bone and charcoal artifacts.
Norway	9,200 BC	Aukra	The oldest remnants of the so-called Fosna culture were found in Aukra in Møre og Romsdal, and date from this period.
Argentina	9,000 BC	Piedra Museo	Spear heads and human fossils.
Bioko	8,000 BC		Early Bantu migration.
Ireland	7,700 BC	Mount Sandel	Carbon dating of hazel nut shells reveals this place to have been inhabited for 9,700 years.
Estonia	7,600 BC	Pulli	The Pulli settlement on the bank of the Pärnu River briefly pre-dates that at Kunda, which gave its name to the Kunda culture.
Cambodia	7,000 BC	Laang Spean	Laang Spean cave in the Stung Sangker River valley, Battambang Province
Zhokhov Island	6,300 BC		Hunting tools and animal remains in the High Arctic.
Tuvalu	6,000 BC	Caves of Nanumanga	Evidence of fire in a submerged cave last accessible 8000 BP.
Malta	5,200 BC	Għar Dalam	Settlers from Sicily brought agriculture and impressed ware pottery.
Trinidad	5,000 BC	Banwari Trace	Stone and bone artifacts mark the oldest archaeological site in the Caribbean.
Puerto Rico	4,000 BC	Angostura site	Carbon dating of burial site.
Mariana Islands	3,000 BC		Carbon dating of charcoal.
Greenland	2,000 BC	Saqqaq	Saqqaq culture was the first of several waves of settlement from northern Canada and from Scandinavia.
Baffin Island, Canada	2,000 BC	Pond Inlet	In 1969, Pre-Dorset remains were discovered, with seal bones radiocarbon dated to 2035 BC
Wrangel Island	1,400 BC	Chertov Ovrag	Sea-mammal hunting tools.
Tonga	1,180 BC	Pea village on Tongatapu	Radiocarbon dating of a shell found at the site dates the occupation at 3180±100 BP.
Fiji	1,095 BC	Bourewa	Radiocarbon dating of a shell midden at Bourewa on Viti Levu Island shows earliest inhabitation at 1220-970 BC.
Canary Islands	1,000 BC		Genetic studies show relation to Moroccan Berbers, but precise date uncertain.
Vanuatu	1,000 BC	Teouma etc.	Lapita pottery found at Teouma cemetery on Efate and on several other islands.
Samoa	1,000 BC	Mulifanua	Lapita site found at Mulifanua Ferry Berth Site by New Zealand scientists in the 1970s.
Hawaii	290 AD	Ka Lae	Early settlement from the Marquesas Islands.
Madagascar	500 AD		The population of Madagascar seems to have derived in equal measures from Borneo and East Africa.
Comoros	550 AD
Faroe Islands	600 AD		Agricultural remains from three locations were analysed and dated to as early as the sixth century A.D.
Bahamas	850 AD	Three Dog Site (SS21), San Salvador Island	Excavated midden includes quartz and Ostionoid ceramic artifacts, wood and seed remains, etc., dated to 800-900 AD.
Iceland	874 AD	Reykjavík	Ingólfr Arnarson, the first known Norse settler, built his homestead in Reykjavík this year, though Norse or Hiberno-Scottish monks might have arrived up to two hundred years earlier.
Huahine, French Polynesia	960 AD	Fa'ahia	Bird bones dated to 1140±90 BP.
Raiatea, French Polynesia	1000 AD	Taputapuatea marae	Stone religious structures established by 1000 AD.
Pitcairn Island	1050 AD		Settled by Polynesians in the 11th century, later abandoned. Resettled by British and Polynesians 1790.
Easter Island	500-1200 AD	Anakena	Settled by voyagers from the Marquesas Islands, possibly as early as 300 AD.
New Zealand	1250–1300 AD	Wairau Bar	Though some researchers suggest settlements as early as 50–150 AD, that later became extinct, it is generally accepted that the islands were permanently settled by Eastern Polynesians (the ancestors of the Māori) who arrived about 1250–1300 AD.
Norfolk Island	1300 AD	Emily Bay	Settled by Polynesians, later abandoned. Resettled by British 1788.
Auckland Islands	1300 AD	Sandy Bay, Enderby Island	Settled by Polynesians, later abandoned. Resettled from the Chatham Islands in 1842, later abandoned.
Madeira	1420 AD		Settlers from Portugal.
Azores	1439 AD	Santa Maria Island	Settlers from Portugal led by Gonçalo Velho Cabral.
Cape Verde	1462 AD	Cidade Velha	Settlers from Portugal.
São Tomé and Príncipe	1485 AD	São Tomé	Portuguese settlement in 1485 failed but was followed in 1493 by a successful settlement led by Álvaro Caminha.
Saint Helena	1516 AD		Settled by Fernão Lopes (soldier). Later populated by escaped slaves from Mozambique and Java, then by English in 1659.
Annobón	1543 AD		Alvaro da Cunha requested Portuguese royal charter in 1543 and by 1559 had settled Africans slaves there.
Chatham Islands	1550 AD		Moriori settlers from New Zealand. This was the last wave of Polynesian migrations.
Bermuda	1609 AD		Settled by English survivors of the Sea Venture shipwreck, led by George Somers.
Svalbard	1619 AD	Smeerenburg	Settled by Dutch and Danish whalers 1619-1657. Longyearbyen founded 1906 and continuously inhabited except for World War II.
Mauritius	1638 AD	Vieux Grand Port	First settled by Dutch under Cornelius Gooyer.
Réunion	1642 AD		Settled 1642 by a dozen deported French mutineers from Madagascar, who were returned to France several years later. In 1665 the French East India Company started a permanent settlement.
Rodrigues	1691 AD		Settled 1691 by a small group of French Huguenots led by François Leguat; abandoned 1693. The French settled slaves there in the 18th century.
Falkland Islands	1764 AD	Puerto Soledad	Settled by French during the expedition of Louis Antoine de Bougainville.
Seychelles	1770 AD	Ste. Anne Island	Although visited earlier by Maldivians, Malays and Arabs, the first known settlement was a spice plantation established by the French, first on Ste. Anne Island, then moved to Mahé.
Tristan da Cunha	1810 AD		First settled by Jonathan Lambert and two other men.
Ascension Island	1815 AD		Settled as a British military garrison.
Bonin Islands	1830 AD	Port Lloyd, Chichi-jima	Some evidence of early settlement from the Marianas, but the islands were abandoned except for occasional shipwrecks until a group of Europeans, Polynesians, and Micronesians settled Chichi-jima in 1830.
Lord Howe Island	1834 AD	Blinky Beach	Whaling supply station.
Île Amsterdam	1871 AD	Camp Heurtin	Following various shipwrecks and visits by sealers and scientists in the 18th and 19th century, a short-lived settlement was made in 1871 by Heurtin, a French resident of Réunion Island. A French scientific base has been maintained since 1949.
South Orkney Islands	1903 AD	Orcadas Base	Visited by sealers and whalers in the 19th century. Scientific base founded by Scottish National Antarctic Expedition and sold to Argentina in 1904.
South Georgia	1904 AD	Grytviken	Visited by sealers in the 19th century. Carl Anton Larsen founded a permanent whaling station in 1904.
Jan Mayen	1921 AD	Eggøya	Visited by whalers in the 17th century, with some overwinter sojourns in 1633, 1882, and 1907. Weather station at Eggøya established 1921, followed by other weather and military stations. The current station, Olonkinbyen, has been continuously inhabited since 1958.
Kerguelen Islands	1927 AD	Port-Couvreux	After occasional sojourns and shipwrecks in the 19th century, three families settled in a sheep-farming colony but were evacuated in 1934. Scientific station at Port-aux-Français has been continuously inhabited since 1950.
Île Saint-Paul	1928 AD		Although now uninhabited, a spiny lobster cannery was established in 1928, with the last two or three settlers rescued in 1934.
South Shetland Islands	1947 AD	Captain Arturo Prat Base	Visited by sealers and explorers in the 19th century. Chilean naval base staffed continuously 1947-2004.
Prince Edward Islands	1947 AD	Transvaal Cove	Visited by sealers and shipwrecks in the 19th century. South Africa occupied the islands in 1947 and established a meteorological station.
Antarctica	1948 AD	Base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme	First permanent base in mainland Antarctica, operated by the Chilean Army.
Macquarie Island	1948 AD	Macquarie Island Station	Occasional sojourns and shipwrecks in the 19th century, continuously inhabited since 1948.
Crozet Islands	1963 AD	Alfred Faure	Occasional shipwrecks and visiting sealers and whalers in the 19th century, continuously inhabited since 1963.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

• Early human migrations
• Historical migration
• Human evolution
• List of human evolution fossils
• Timeline of human evolution

External links

• Atlas of the Human Journey – National Geographic
• Journey of Mankind – Genetic Map – Bradshaw Foundation