How to survive the prehistor from Sefffolcano is more likely to be extinct

If you are lucky 74,000 years ago, you will have survived Tuba superOne of the largest catastrophic events in the Earth has been in the past one hundred million years.

While the volcano is located in what is now Indonesia, it is possible that living organisms are affected all over the world. As an archeology that Specialized in the study of volcanic explosions From the past, I often think about the lack of correction that humans have survived this event at the level of extinction, which was more than 10,000 times from 1980 The eruption of Mount Saint Helen.

Toba Superryption 672 cubic miles (2800 km) out of volcanic ash in the stratosphere, resulting in a huge hole approximately 1,000 football fields (62 x 18 miles, or 100 x 30 km). This size had produced a black sky that prevented most of the sun, which could cause years of global cooling. Closer to the volcano, the acid rain will have contaminated water supply, and the ash layers were thick than the ash burial and plants.

With all those difficulties stacked against Hoomo, the sane As a type, how did we survive to collect the story today?

Stay alive in the ashes

Perhaps the human population lived close to Toba volcano. Whether people in other parts of the world have been affected by the question that scientists still achieve.

The Tuba disaster hypothesis It was a prominent intellectual school for many years. Toba Superryption is suggested that a global cooling event lasted for up to six years. Its effects, according to the hypothesis, have caused a decrease in people’s sizes in humans to less than 10,000 people living on Earth.

This scenario is With the support of genetic evidence I was found in people’s genres alive today. Our DNA indicates that contemporary humans have spread in separate areas about 100,000 years ago, and then shortly after that The neck of the genetic bottle: An event, such as a natural disaster or the spread of the disease, leads to a significant decrease in the sizes of the population. These disasters greatly reduce the genetic diversity in the group.

Whether this clear reduction in the size of the human population is the result of “super Tuba” or some other factors are largely discussed. Since scientists collect more data from climatic, environmental and archaeological records, we can start understanding the most important conditions for human survival.

How to study the effect of sufficiency

To collect what happened 74,000 years ago, scientists have a direct set of evidence that they can use: rocks and ash out of the volcanic eruption itself. This article is indicated in the name of Tifra. Scientists can visually and chemically across the landscapes through the landscape.

Microscopic volcanic glass is called Cryptotephra travels to the maximum, which makes it important to understand the true range of the explosion. Since Cryptotephra is not visible to the naked eye, it may be difficult to determine. The researchers like me carefully separate small glass fragments by sifting dirt and using Micromanipulator, a tool that can capture and transport microscopic pills. This process can feel a desire to search for a needle in a straw pile and can take months to complete it for one location.

Each volcanic eruption has a unique chemistry, scientists can use to determine any certain sample of volcanic materials from which you have been established. For example, Tephra may have more than iron than iron than the Tifra than another eruption. With this knowledge, we can start understanding the large extent of the past explosions and those affected directly.

When I work in this field, I am looking for Cryptotephra that settled on archaeological sites – places with effects of previous human activity such as tools, art, or even buried residue. I collect samples from the areas of the site that were dug and returned to the laboratory to extract the microscopic volcanic glass from dirt. Then I analyze the chemical glass to find out the volcanic fingerprints.

But even if you decide that a certain sample from an archaeological site is from Toba Superryption, what does this reveal if people have survived the explosion?

Once you specify the Tephra or Cryptotephra layer, the next step is to look closely at what is preserved in the archaeological record before and after that eruption. In some cases, people change their behavior after the explosion, such as using new stone tool technology or eating something different. Sometimes, people do not abandon a location, and they left no trace of human activity after a catastrophic event.

The study of volcanic sediments on archaeological sites fills only one piece of the mystery. Environmental and climatic records maintain information on how local vegetation or global temperatures change at the time of the explosion. This information helps scientists to understand the reason for people to make the changes they made.

What does archaeological evidence reveal?

Looking at the size and intensity of Toba Superryption, it seems imperative that humans around the world greatly suffer. However, most archaeological sites tell a story of flexibility.

In places like South Africa, humans not only survived this catastrophic event, but also flourished. in Pinnacle Point 5-6Evidence of Cryptotephra from Toba shows that humans occupied the site before, during and after the explosion. In fact, human activity increased and New technological innovations He appeared shortly after, indicating the ability to adapt to humans.

This miracle result was not limited to South Africa. Similar evidence is also preserved in the archaeological site SHINFA-METEMA 1 in low lands of EthiopiaThe Toba Cryptotephra was present in layers that also maintain human activity.

Here, former people adapt to changes in the local environment by following seasonal rivers and fishing in the small shallow waters present during the long dry seasons. Close to the super Tuba, humans in this region also adopt the technique of bow and traffic. This behavioral flexibility allowed people to survive from severe arid conditions and other potential effects of joy.

Over the years, archaeologists have found similar results in many other sites in Indonesia, India and China. When the evidence accumulates, it seems that people were able to survive and continue to be productive after Tuba blew her pile. This indicates that this eruption may not be the main reason for the mistake of the proposed population in the original Tuba disaster hypothesis.

While Toba may not help scientists understand what has caused the old human population to 10,000 people, it helps us to understand how humans are adapted to catastrophic events in the past and what this means for our future.

What can the catastrophe in the future mean?

The good news is that we are now more willing than people were 74,000 years ago, and until then, they were able to adapt and find new solutions in the wake of destructive events. Today, programs like Usgs risk risk program and Global Volcanic Program Focus on preparing by monitoring active volcanoes through a variety of technologies. In fact, you can check what the volcanoes are Currently At any time.

Regardless of our increasing willingness, humans are defined by the ability to adapt to almost any situation, even disaster events. By studying the effect of volcanic eruptions in the archaeological registry, we can better understand the conditions that were the key to survival in the past and applying these lessons to the future.

Jaidi n. HerniacPh.D. candidate in anthropology, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University. This article has been republished from Conversation Under the creative public license. Read The original article.