Working in the Horn of Africa, researchers have uncovered evidence showing how early modern humans survived in the wake of the eruption of Toba, one of the largest supervolcanoes in history, some 74,000 years ago. Modern humans dispersed from Africa multiple times, but the event that led to global expansion occurred less than 100,000 years ago.
Supereruption but may have facilitated the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa and across the rest of the world. Some researchers hypothesize that dispersals were restricted to 'green corridors' formed during humid intervals when food was abundant and human populations expanded in lockstep with their environments. But a new study suggests that humans also may have dispersed during arid intervals along 'blue highways' created by seasonal rivers.
"This study confirms the results from Pinnacle Point in South Africa -- the eruption of Toba may have changed the environment in Africa, but people adapted and survived that eruption-caused environmental change," said Marean, research scientist with the Institute of Human Origins and Foundation Professor with the School of Human Evolution and Social Change.
Cryptotephra are signature volcanic glass shards that can range from 80-20 microns in size, which is smaller than the diameter of a human hair. To extract these microscopic shards from archaeological sediment requires patience and great attention to detail. The methods for identifying low abundance cryptotephra at Pinnacle Point were first developed at University of Nevada Las Vegas led by the late Gene Smith and Racheal Johnsen and now carried on at Arizona State University's Sediment and TEphra Preparation Lab.
Its climatic effects appear to have produced a longer dry season, causing people in the area to rely even more on fish. The shrinking of the waterholes may also have pushed humans to migrate outward in search of more food. The people living in the Shinfa-Metema 1 site hunted a variety of terrestrial animals, from antelope to monkey, as attested to by cut marks on the bones, and apparently cooked their meals as shown by evidence of controlled fire at the site. The most distinctive stone tools are small, symmetrical triangular points. Analyses show that the points are most likely arrowheads that, at 74,000 years in age, represent the oldest evidence of archery.
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Toba supereruption may have facilitated dispersal of modern humans out of AfricaModern humans dispersed from Africa multiple times, but the event that led to global expansion occurred less than 100,000 years ago. Some researchers hypothesize that dispersals were restricted to 'green corridors' formed during humid intervals when food was abundant and human populations expanded in lockstep with their environments.
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