Scientists have determined that a severe drought occurred in Africa 70,000 years ago, which may have changed the course of human history.
At the American Geophysical Union conference, it was reported that 70,000 years ago, Lake Malauy, which is now nearly 550 km long and 700 m deep, experienced significant drying in areas no wider than 10 km and no deeper than 200 m. Lake Bousunvi, located at the mouth of a volcano and currently spanning 10 km, was completely dried up during that time.
This level of desiccation could only happen due to an extended drought across the continent. This discovery has drawn the attention of scientists because the timing of this severe drought in Africa coincides with one of the key periods assumed in human evolution.
After studying soil samples taken from the bottoms of two lakes in East Africa and a lake in Ghana, scientists reached this conclusion. These soil samples confirmed that equatorial Africa had to endure a prolonged drought period.
Researchers believe this could be one of the reasons why the ancestors of modern humans left this continent and dispersed across the globe.
Those who remained in Africa had to possess extraordinary resilience to withstand the losses caused by the drought.
American scientists suggest that the drought caused such severe damage to the landscape that not only humans but also the animal species living in Africa were affected.
Genetic studies provide a basis to affirm that modern humans originated from a population of about 10 individuals living in Africa.
Scientists hypothesize that immediately after the drought ended, human populations began to rapidly reproduce, with many of our ancestors migrating from Africa to the Near East, Asia, and Europe.
There is growing certainty among scientists that ancient disasters have directly influenced the fate of humanity.
