Paleolithic humans already adapted their mobility strategies to survive earthquakes

Earthquakes were already shaping human life long before the emergence of the first cities or agricultural societies. An international team involving IPHES-CERCA has demonstrated that the hunter-gatherer groups inhabiting the Vale Boi site, in southwestern Portugal, between 30,000 and 24,000 years ago, had already developed complex strategies to cope with extreme seismic activity. The research shows that the human capacity to adapt to natural disasters has much deeper roots than previously believed.

The study, published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, was led by Alvise Barbieri, researcher at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB) of the Universidade do Algarve, and includes the participation of Javier Sánchez Martínez, researcher at IPHES-CERCA. The research provides one of the earliest known pieces of evidence for resilience behaviours in response to geological hazards in Paleolithic societies.

The study focused on the Vale Boi site, an exceptional enclave located in a tectonically active area in the southern Iberian Peninsula. To reconstruct the impact of earthquakes on this coastal settlement, the team combined archaeological, geological and chronological data with state-of-the-art techniques such as electrical resistivity tomography.

These analyses made it possible to identify faults and rockfall episodes caused by earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 5.7 Mw, which repeatedly reshaped the landscape and affected the areas occupied by Upper Paleolithic human groups.

Unlike other prehistoric contexts in which major natural catastrophes led to long periods of territorial abandonment, the communities of Vale Boi continued to occupy this area by adapting their mobility patterns, land use and social networks in order to reduce the risks associated with seismic activity.

According to the researchers, Vale Boi was a particularly favourable location for human groups thanks to its proximity to the coast, the availability of water and access to a wide diversity of ecological resources. These conditions made the enclave a highly valuable strategic location for hunter-gatherer groups despite the constant geological risks.

Adapting to earthquakes 30,000 years ago

The research reveals that human groups responded to seismic episodes by modifying their mobility strategies and exploitation of the territory. At certain times they temporarily abandoned the site or reduced the duration of occupations, while at others they reorganised the use of space to minimise exposure to rockfalls.

The study also documents a significant dietary shift during periods of greater geological instability. The communities of Vale Boi substantially increased their exploitation of marine and coastal resources, a strategy that probably allowed them to diversify food sources and reduce dependence on terrestrial resources during times of environmental uncertainty.

However, the response to these disasters was not only logistical. According to Javier Sánchez Martínez, IPHES-CERCA researcher and co-author of the study, periods of intense seismic activity coincided with an extreme climatic episode known as Heinrich Event 2, characterised by severe cooling.

“In these contexts of environmental and geological crisis, human groups strengthened their social networks and relationships with more distant communities. Sharing information, contacts and resources likely acted as a buffering mechanism against situations of uncertainty and risk,” explains Sánchez Martínez.

A lesson in prehistoric resilience

The research shows that the human ability to adapt to natural disasters is not exclusive to modern societies. The researchers point out that these Paleolithic communities were already deploying complex survival strategies based on territorial flexibility, social reorganisation and cooperation between groups.

“This work demonstrates that resilience to extreme phenomena is part of the evolutionary history of our species. Hunter-gatherer communities made sophisticated decisions to reduce risks and ensure their survival,” the authors emphasise.

The study also provides new insights into the role of tectonics in shaping the landscapes inhabited by prehistoric humans and opens new perspectives for understanding how natural disasters have influenced human evolution over time.

The research was carried out within the framework of an international collaboration between institutions from Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands, and included the participation of researchers from IPHES-CERCA and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Bibliographic reference

Barbieri, A., Sánchez Martínez, J., Belmiro, J. et al. Early evidence of earthquake management through mobility and social network adjustments at Vale Boi (SW Iberia). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 18, 25 (2026).  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-025-02400-6