 Evidence has been found of early humans in the early Würm-Weichsel period hunting large Arctic mammals in the Ice Age steppes of northern Europe.However, it is still unclear whether these humans were just temporary migrants or inhabitants of Arctic colonies at the time.The earliest inhabitants of the polar regions were the Neanderthals, or "Homo neanderthalensis", who are considered to be an intermediate stage between "Homo erectus" and "Homo sapiens sapiens".