Somehow, H. erectus was able to adjust to this new landscape. The early humans visited water holes that popped up after it rained and hunted the animals that congregated to drink. And across millennia, they repeatedly inhabited the same sites near rivers and streams, strategically taking advantage of the resources they offered.

More than 1.2 million years ago, our ancestors Homo erectus developed the tools and intellectual capacity to survive in very dry conditions, new findings indicate. The adaptation was important to human survival,

Homo erectus was able to adapt to and survive in desert-like environments at least 1.2 million years ago, according to a paper published in Communications Earth & Environment. The findings suggest that behavioral adaptations included returning repeatedly over thousands of years to specific rivers and ponds for fresh water,