Our AI writing assistant, WriteUp, can assist you in easily writing any text. Click here to experience its capabilities.

Europe's 1st humans were likely wiped out by a sudden freeze 1.1 million years ago

View Original View Raw

Summary

A new study has found evidence of an "extreme cooling event" 1.1 million years ago in Europe that likely caused the extinction of the archaic human species Homo erectus. Evidence for this cooling period was found in cores of marine sediment sampled from the ocean floor off the coast of Portugal, as well as an analysis of pollen grains from land-based vegetation. This period was also marked by a significant drop in carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, and it coincided with a gap in human habitation of the continent. The cold would have made it difficult for archaic humans to find food, as fewer plants and animals would have survived, and they would not have been equipped to survive the cold. The findings illustrate how climate change can have dramatic impacts on populations, even today.

Q&As

What evidence do researchers have of an abrupt cooling event 1.1 million years ago in Europe?
Researchers have evidence of an abrupt cooling event 1.1 million years ago in Europe from cores of marine sediment sampled from the ocean floor off the coast of Portugal.

What caused the cooling event that likely led to the extinction of Homo erectus in Europe?
The cause of the cooling event was likely astronomical, due to Jupiter's gravitational influence causing Earth's orbit to be roughly circular around the sun.

How did the cooling event affect the environment of Europe?
The extreme cooling caused Europe's landmass to undergo a similar cold phase, which may have caused its northern ice sheets to advance southward.

What does the new research suggest about the effects of climate change on human populations?
The new research suggests that climatic variability can have profound effects on hominin populations, with implications for all of humanity today who face extreme weather events and changes in ecosystems.

What consequences did the extreme cold have on archaic humans in Europe?
The cold would have made it harder for archaic humans to find food, as fewer plants and the animals that ate them would have survived. Moreover, archaic humans themselves weren't suited for the cold, as they lacked sufficient fat insulation and the means to make fire, effective clothing, or shelters, leading to much-lower population resilience.

AI Comments

👍 This new research is fascinating and provides an interesting insight into the history of Europe's human population 1.1 million years ago.

👎 This study is limited in scope and cannot conclusively prove that the sudden freeze wiped out Europe's first humans.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about how Europe's first humans, a population of the archaic human species Homo erectus, were probably wiped out by an "extreme cooling event" about 1.1 million years ago. The researchers found evidence for the cooling in cores of marine sediment sampled from the ocean floor off the coast of Portugal.

Friend: Wow, that's really interesting. What are the implications of this article?

Me: Well, the findings suggest that this sudden cooling could have caused or contributed to the extinction of Europe's archaic humans. It also provides a detailed picture of how extreme climatic events can have a major impact on human populations, something that is still relevant today in the context of climate change. This research also highlights the importance of studying the past to better understand how climate change can affect human populations.

Action items

Research the effects of climate change on human populations today.
Explore the archaeological evidence of Homo erectus in Europe.
Investigate the astronomical influences on Earth's climate cycles.

Technical terms

Homo erectus: An extinct species of archaic humans that lived in Europe between 1.8 million and 1.4 million years ago.
Extreme cooling: A sudden and significant drop in temperature, which occurred about 1.1 million years ago.
Marine sediment: Sediment found on the ocean floor, which can be used to study past climates.
Elemental isotopes: Variations of elements that have different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei.
Pollen grains: Tiny particles released by plants that contain genetic material.
Greenhouse gas: Gases in the atmosphere that trap heat and cause global warming.
Astronomical: Relating to the science of astronomy.
Hunter-gatherer: A person who hunts and gathers food for subsistence.
Paleoclimatologist: A scientist who studies past climates.
Meltwater: Water that is produced by the melting of ice or snow.
Ice age: A period of time when large areas of the Earth are covered in ice.
Paleoanthropologist: A scientist who studies the origins and evolution of humans.