Microscopic shards of glass that fell from an ancient supervolcano eruption shed light on how early modern humans adapted to drastic climate change, according to a recent study conducted at a prehistoric site in northwestern Ethiopia.
Researchers have long debated the extent of the apocalyptic impact of the Toba supervolcano eruption in Sumatra, Indonesia, 74,000 years ago. While some believed that the eruption led to a catastrophic volcanic winter that nearly wiped out Homo sapiens, others argued that the climate effects varied by region and were not severe enough to significantly impact human evolution.
The new study, published in the journal Nature, found minuscule fragments of volcanic glass from Toba alongside ancient arrowheads and fossilized animal remains at the Ethiopian site. The presence of these artifacts suggests that humans were present before, during, and after the eruption. This discovery adds to the growing body of evidence that the mega-eruption did not cause the near-extinction of humans.
Interestingly, the study also revealed that humans altered their diets to adapt to the extremely arid conditions following the eruption. They began consuming more fish, possibly due to the drying up of the Shinfa River, which provided shallow waterholes. This behavioral flexibility in adjusting their food sources is considered a characteristic of modern humans today.
Furthermore, the study challenges the prevailing belief about early human dispersal out of Africa. It was previously thought that humans were unable to survive in extremely arid climates and would have retreated to higher elevations instead of continuing their migration. However, evidence from the Shinfa-Metema 1 site indicates that humans were capable of handling arid environments, questioning the traditional narrative of human migration.
The archaeological team, led by Professor John W. Kappelman Jr. from the University of Texas at Austin, has been excavating at Shin