Human connections to seagrass meadows date back 180,000 years, study reveals

By Benjamin Jones, Chief Conservation Officer, Project Seagrass & Research Affiliate, Swansea University
Nicole R Foster, Postdoctoral Researcher, Marine Science, Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC)
Oscar Serrano, Principal Researcher, Coastal Ecology, Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC)

For millennia, humans lived as hunter-gatherers. Savannas and forests are often thought of as the cradle of our lineage, but beneath the waves, a habitat exists that has quietly supported humans for over 180,000 years.

Archaeological evidence suggests that early humans migrated along coasts, avoiding desert and tundra. So, as Homo spread from Africa, they inevitably encountered seagrasses – flowering plants evolved to inhabit shallow coastal environments that form undersea meadows teeming with life.
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