Together with an international team, researchers of the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen reconstructed the 20,000-year-old history of the mega-lake Chew Bahir in a remote valley in Southern Ethiopia. Led by Annett Junginger, the scientists were able to show that the lake underwent rapid water level changes in the course of its history, which had a direct impact on the local population. The study was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Earth Science. Water is mankind's most important basic resource. From the beginning until today, humans of all cultures sought out settlements...