About 160,000 years ago, the world was going through one of the most hostile periods for human life: the Middle Pleistocene glaciation. Much of the planet was covered in ice, and habitable areas were drastically reduced. Extreme temperatures and lack of resources led to the collapse of many hominid populations in different regions of the planet.

In this context, the survival of early Homo sapiens hung in the balance. Genetic research suggests that at a critical moment in our history, the human population was reduced to an extremely small group, possibly between 1,000 and 10,000 individuals. This genetic bottleneck marked a turning point.

The refuge on the coasts of southern Africa

While most hominids on the planet succumbed to the harsh conditions, a small group of Homo sapiens found refuge on the shores of southern Africa, near what we now know as Pinnacle Point. Here, the ocean offered something that the arid, frozen lands could not: constant sustenance.

During low tides, these humans gathered crabs, limpets, mussels and oysters, foods rich in protein, fats and essential micronutrients. The abundance of marine resources allowed this group to survive when hunting and gathering on land was almost impossible.

The collapse of other hominids

Elsewhere in the world, hominin species faced insurmountable challenges. Neanderthals, who inhabited Europe and western Asia, found themselves trapped in ecosystems that could not sustain them during the most severe ice ages. Homo erectus , still surviving in parts of Asia, also disappeared, unable to adapt to extreme climate changes.

Key to coastal humans' survival was their ability to exploit ocean resources. While other hominids relied exclusively on terrestrial hunting and gathering, coastal Homo sapiens found a stable and reliable food source.

The legacy of the survivors

Genetic and archaeological evidence indicates that humans who survived on the coasts of southern Africa became the ancestors of all modern human populations. This small and isolated group managed to overcome the genetic bottleneck thanks to their ingenuity and ability to adapt.

Not only did shellfish consumption ensure their physical survival, it may have also fueled cognitive advances. The omega-3 fatty acids present in shellfish are essential for brain development, and this nutrient-rich diet may have been a key factor in the development of skills such as abstract thinking, planning and social cooperation.

A world empty of other hominids

As the millennia passed, the ice ages subsided and the climate began to stabilise. The descendants of this small coastal group began to spread again, populating the African continent and eventually the rest of the planet. By then, the other hominids had disappeared. Neanderthals, Homo erectus and other species were gone.

The planet had become a place void of hominids, except for this lineage that had survived thanks to the ocean. The seemingly insignificant crabs, mussels and oysters became the saviors of our species, allowing Homo sapiens to persist and become the sole heirs of hominid evolutionary history.

The connection with the sea

Today, when we look at the ocean, it is hard to imagine that it was once our last hope. But on those shores of southern Africa, tens of thousands of years ago, the ocean not only gave us food: it gave us a future. Without marine resources, our species would have disappeared, leaving the Earth without hominids.

So, in a time of extreme adversity, crabs and shellfish saved us, ensuring that the human lineage did not become extinct.