Major Population Shift In Europe Near End Of Last Ice Age Linked To Climate Change
A team of geneticists analyzed the DNA of prehistoric humans across Europe to see how the populations handled extreme climate conditions before, during and after the last Ice Age. Researchers discovered there was a massive population crash in Europe around 14,500 years ago due to climate change.
During this period, when the environment started to warm up at a faster rate, the glaciers around the world melted. This led to the rise in sea levels by 52 feet in about 500 years. The change in climate placed the environment in a frantic chaos where wildlife tried to adjust to the temperature fluctuations. Prehistoric humans also suffered heavy blows.
The DNA analysis found that disappearance of age-old bloodlines of hunter-gatherers who thrived for thousands of years before the shift. The old bloodlines were replaced by new ones of unknown origin.
Pieter Cornelissen