FLICKR, WALTER LIM
The biggest volcanic eruption in the last 2 million years occurred some 74,000 years ago when Mount Toba, a supervolcano in Indonesia, blew its top, spewing massive volumes of rocks and ash across the world. Many scientists believed that this caused a “volcanic winter,” which dramatically altered the Earth’s climate and nearly wiped out the human species. But a new study, published yesterday (March 12) in Nature, suggests that humanity may in fact have flourished after the event.
After excavating two archeological sites in South Africa, a group of researchers discovered cryptotephra, pieces of glassy volcanic rock, sprinkled between layers of bones, weapons, and other artefacts left behind by humans. “We showed that after the input of the shards, human occupation at the site actually ...
