via Nature, 20 March 2024: A study of ancient artifacts and animal remains in Ethiopia reveals how early humans adapted to the dramatic climate changes following the Toba supervolcano eruption 74,000 years ago. Contrary to theories suggesting near-extinction, evidence indicates humans altered their diets and potentially used bows and arrows for hunting, showcasing remarkable adaptability. This discovery challenges previous notions about human dispersal from Africa, suggesting our ancestors could thrive in arid conditions and utilize “blue corridors” of seasonal rivers for migration.
Although modern humans left Africa multiple times over 100,000 years ago, those broadly ancestral to non-Africans dispersed less than 100,000 years ago1. Most models hold that these events occurred through green corridors created during humid periods because arid intervals constrained population movements2. Here we report an archaeological site—Shinfa-Metema 1, in the lowlands of northwest Ethiopia, with Youngest Toba Tuff cryptotephra dated to around 74,000 years ago—that provides early and rare evidence of intensive riverine-based foraging aided by the likely adoption of the bow and arrow. The diet included a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic animals. Stable oxygen isotopes from fossil mammal teeth and ostrich eggshell show that the site was occupied during a period of high seasonal aridity. The unusual abundance of fish suggests that capture occurred in the ever smaller and shallower waterholes of a seasonal river during a long dry season, revealing flexible adaptations to challenging climatic conditions during the Middle Stone Age. Adaptive foraging along dry-season waterholes would have transformed seasonal rivers into ‘blue highway’ corridors, potentially facilitating an out-of-Africa dispersal and suggesting that the event was not restricted to times of humid climates. The behavioural flexibility required to survive seasonally arid conditions in general, and the apparent short-term effects of the Toba supereruption in particular were probably key to the most recent dispersal and subsequent worldwide expansion of modern humans
Source: Adaptive foraging behaviours in the Horn of Africa during Toba supereruption
See also:
- A supervolcano erupted 74,000 years ago. Here’s how humans survived it | The Washington Post, 20 Mar 2024
- Fossil Trove From 74,000 Years Ago Points to Remarkably Adaptive Humans | New York Times, 20 Mar 2024
- One of the largest eruptions in Earth’s history could have wiped out humans. Here’s how scientists say some survived | CNN, 21 Mar 2024
- Scientists find clear proof that a supervolcano won’t wipe humans out | Mashable, 23 Mar 2024
- Stone Age People Survived a Supervolcano Eruption by Adapting to Dry Periods, Archaeologists Suggest | Smithsonian, 25 Mar 2024
- How the Toba Eruption Changed Human Travel in the World | Kompas, 26 Mar 2024
