Malaria shaped human spatial organisation for the last 74 thousand years

While climate is often seen as the main driver of early humans’ spatial organisation in Africa, genetic and archaeological studies also suggest diseases as key selective forces in the Pleistocene. We explored whether P. falciparum-induced malaria drove habitat choice in human societies 74,000-5,000 years ago. Using species distribution models of mosquito complexes, palaeoclimatic and epidemiological data, we estimated an index of malaria transmission risk in sub-Saharan Africa through time. We then correlated it with an independent reconstruction of the human niche, demonstrating that humans avoided or were unsuccessful in potential malaria hotspots. Our results highlight the importance of considering disease distributions when modelling past human demography, demonstrating that factors beyond climate underlay population structure, patterns of habitat choice and dispersal.