The study at the Shinfa-Metema 1 site in Ethiopia reveals how early people made it through the Toba supervolcano eruption and adapted to ecological changes, showcasing the versatility that allowed global human growth. Credit: SciTechDaily.comToba supereruption might have facilitated the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa and across the rest of the world.Modern humans distributed from Africa numerous times, however the occasion that led to worldwide expansion happened less than 100,000 years back.”This study confirms the outcomes from Pinnacle Point in South Africa– the eruption of Toba may have changed the environment in Africa, however people made it through and adjusted that eruption-caused environmental modification,” said Marean, research study scientist with the Institute of Human Origins and Foundation Professor with the School of Human Evolution and Social Change.The group examined the Shinfa-Metema 1 website in the lowlands of contemporary northwestern Ethiopia along the Shinfa River, a tributary of the Blue Nile River.The supereruption took place during the middle of the time when the website was occupied and is documented by tiny glass shards whose chemistry matches that of Toba.Excavations at a Middle Stone Age archaeological site, Shinfa-Metema 1, in the lowlands of northwest Ethiopia exposed a population of human beings at 74,000 years ago that endured the eruption of the Toba supervolcano. Having the capability to correlate sites 5,000 miles apart, and possibly further, to within weeks rather of thousands of years makes it all worth it,” stated Christopher Campisano, research researcher with the Institute of Human Origins and professor with the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. The behavioral versatility that helped them adjust to challenging climatic conditions such as the Toba supereruption was probably an essential characteristic of Middle Stone Age humans that enabled our types to ultimately distribute from Africa and expand throughout the globe.The individuals living in the Shinfa-Metema 1 website hunted a range of terrestrial animals, from antelope to monkey, as attested to by cut marks on the bones, and obviously prepared their meals as shown by evidence of regulated fire at the site.
The study at the Shinfa-Metema 1 website in Ethiopia reveals how early people survived the Toba supervolcano eruption and adapted to environmental modifications, showcasing the versatility that enabled international human expansion. Credit: SciTechDaily.comToba supereruption may have assisted in the dispersal of modern people out of Africa and across the rest of the world.Modern humans dispersed from Africa numerous times, however the occasion that led to global expansion occurred less than 100,000 years ago.”This research study confirms the results from Pinnacle Point in South Africa– the eruption of Toba may have altered the environment in Africa, however people adapted and made it through that eruption-caused environmental modification,” said Marean, research researcher with the Institute of Human Origins and Foundation Professor with the School of Human Evolution and Social Change.The team investigated the Shinfa-Metema 1 website in the lowlands of contemporary northwestern Ethiopia along the Shinfa River, a tributary of the Blue Nile River.The supereruption happened during the middle of the time when the website was inhabited and is recorded by small glass fragments whose chemistry matches that of Toba.Excavations at a Middle Stone Age archaeological site, Shinfa-Metema 1, in the lowlands of northwest Ethiopia exposed a population of people at 74,000 years ago that survived the eruption of the Toba supervolcano.