The teachings of the past: how ice age hunters dealt with climate change

The teachings of the past: how ice age hunters dealt with climate change

For centuries, mankind has been concerned with how earlier generations dealt with extreme climatic conditions. A new study based on ice age teeth could provide valuable knowledge for our world today. An interdisciplinary research team found that our ancestors were confronted with dramatic environmental changes during the last ice age and had to adapt to survive.

The discovery of the teeth

Scientists from Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvirth at the University of Tübingen have developed a groundbreaking method to analyze human teeth from ice age Europe. Teeth are the toughest tissue in the human body and therefore often the best preserved remains of previous people. This allowed collecting and evaluating a unique data record that includes dental data from 450 prehistoric people.

insight into the past

The analysis of these teeth showed interesting patterns in the genetic structure of the communities during the last ice age. About 47,000 to 28,000 years ago, the various groups in Western and Eastern Europe were strongly networked, which was probably favored by the open steppe landscapes in which large herds of mammals lived- an essential source of food for hunters and collectors.

consequences of climate changes

With the insertion of the cold period between 28,000 and 14,700 years before today, there was a dramatic decline in populations in both regions. The genetic analyzes show that the connections between the communities broke and the genetic diversity disappeared. This illustrates how strongly climatic changes could influence demography and the survival of early people.

learn from the past

The importance of this study extends beyond the mere representation of the past. The study manager, Hannes Rathmann, emphasizes the need to learn from the experience of earlier communities while we ask ourselves the complex environmental issues of the future. If previously populations were threatened by climatic extremes in their continued existence, we are confronted with similar challenges these days.

The way forward

When the temperatures rose and the glaciers retreated, the population-poor communities in Western and Eastern Europe recovered. This return to a more stable climate led to resettlement and migration (invasion), which reminds of today, in which climatic changes also cause massive social and economic shifts.

Overall, this study shows how adaptability and networking in times of crisis are essential. The lessons from the past could be decisive for the design of our reactions on the current and future climatic challenges. It is up to us to take these findings into account and take measures to minimize the effects of the current climate crisis.

- Nag