Posted on 03/24/2015 7:28:00 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
In their climate simulations, Black and colleagues found that the largest temperature decreases after the eruption occurred in Eastern Europe and Asia and sidestepped the areas where the final Neanderthal populations were living (Western Europe). Therefore, the authors conclude that the eruption was probably insufficient to trigger Neanderthal extinction.
However, the abrupt cold spell that followed the eruption would still have significantly impacted day-to-day life for Neanderthals and early humans in Europe. Black and colleagues point out that temperatures in Western Europe would have decreased by an average of 2 to 4 degrees Celsius during the year following the eruption. These unusual conditions, they write, may have directly influenced survival and day-to-day life for Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans alike, and emphasize the resilience of anatomically modern humans in the face of abrupt and adverse changes in the environment.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
The article says Neanderthal populations were already declining when this happened. Perhaps Toba had a big impact on them too.
Yup, no doubt.
Suprisingly, the Hobbits who lived near Toba survived until about 13,000 years ago. The ash went away from them.
Another European site of interest is Lacheer See volcano in Germany. It had a significant eruption around 12,000 years ago, and there is some concern that it is acting up again. People tend to forget how fragile civilization really is.
We're all here surviving and thriving due to some good luck in the past.
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