What we know today as Western Europe was the habitat of some 25,000 individuals during it Middle Pleistocene, 500,000 years ago, according to a study led by researchers from the National Research Center on Human Evolution (Cenieh) focused on the distribution and density of the human population in this part of the world. Source: Some 25,000 individuals inhabited Western Europe 500,000 years ago – Archeology, Ancient and Medieval History – Terrae Antiqvae