Who were the first Europeans?

Sitting in the beautiful Verdon Gorge in Southern France, I muse on the first European peoples that inhabited that region. People like Cheddar Man from Somerset in England. I consider the cave art of Lascaux, Pech Merle, Niaux, Chauvet, Cougnac etc. The animals depicted there must have been sacred to our ancestors, whether Homo Sapien or Neanderthal, who depended on their meat to survive. I include some nice shots of Wisent (European Bison), Griffon vultures and Alpine Chamois (not Ibex as I thought at the