The role of climate in the spread of modern humans into Europe
The spread of anatomically modern humans (AMH) into Europe occurred when shifts in the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation triggered a series of large and abrupt climate changes during the last glacial. However, the role of climate forcing in this process has remained unclear. Here we...
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2011
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ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:1028886 2023-05-15T16:28:15+02:00 The role of climate in the spread of modern humans into Europe Muller, UC Pross, J Tzedakis, PC Gamble, C Kotthoff, U Schmiedl, G Wulf, S Christanis, K 2011-02 http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1028886/ unknown PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD QUATERNARY SCI REV , 30 (3-4) 273 - 279. (2011) LAST GLACIAL PERIOD ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGES MEDITERRANEAN REGION SOUTHERN EUROPE POLLEN RECORD AEGEAN SEA MARINE VARIABILITY VEGETATION GREENLAND Article 2011 ftucl 2013-11-10T03:53:54Z The spread of anatomically modern humans (AMH) into Europe occurred when shifts in the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation triggered a series of large and abrupt climate changes during the last glacial. However, the role of climate forcing in this process has remained unclear. Here we present a last glacial record that provides insight into climate-related environmental shifts in the eastern Mediterranean region, i.e. the gateway for the colonisation of Europe by AMH. We show that the environmental impact of the Heinrich Event H5 climatic deterioration c. 48 kyr ago was as extreme as that of the glacial maximum of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 when most of Europe was deserted by Neanderthals. We argue that Heinrich H5 resulted in a similar demographic vacuum so that invasive AMH populations had the opportunity to spread into Europe and occupy large parts before the Neanderthals were able to reoccupy this territory. This spread followed the resumption of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at the beginning of Greenland Interstadial (GIS) 12 c. 47 kyr ago that triggered an extreme and rapid shift from desert-steppe to open woodland biomes in the gateway to Europe. We conclude that the extreme environmental impact of Heinrich H5 within a situation of competitive exclusion between two closely related hominids species shifted the balance in favour of modern humans. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland North Atlantic University College London: UCL Discovery Greenland |
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Open Polar |
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University College London: UCL Discovery |
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ftucl |
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topic |
LAST GLACIAL PERIOD ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGES MEDITERRANEAN REGION SOUTHERN EUROPE POLLEN RECORD AEGEAN SEA MARINE VARIABILITY VEGETATION GREENLAND |
spellingShingle |
LAST GLACIAL PERIOD ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGES MEDITERRANEAN REGION SOUTHERN EUROPE POLLEN RECORD AEGEAN SEA MARINE VARIABILITY VEGETATION GREENLAND Muller, UC Pross, J Tzedakis, PC Gamble, C Kotthoff, U Schmiedl, G Wulf, S Christanis, K The role of climate in the spread of modern humans into Europe |
topic_facet |
LAST GLACIAL PERIOD ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGES MEDITERRANEAN REGION SOUTHERN EUROPE POLLEN RECORD AEGEAN SEA MARINE VARIABILITY VEGETATION GREENLAND |
description |
The spread of anatomically modern humans (AMH) into Europe occurred when shifts in the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation triggered a series of large and abrupt climate changes during the last glacial. However, the role of climate forcing in this process has remained unclear. Here we present a last glacial record that provides insight into climate-related environmental shifts in the eastern Mediterranean region, i.e. the gateway for the colonisation of Europe by AMH. We show that the environmental impact of the Heinrich Event H5 climatic deterioration c. 48 kyr ago was as extreme as that of the glacial maximum of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 when most of Europe was deserted by Neanderthals. We argue that Heinrich H5 resulted in a similar demographic vacuum so that invasive AMH populations had the opportunity to spread into Europe and occupy large parts before the Neanderthals were able to reoccupy this territory. This spread followed the resumption of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at the beginning of Greenland Interstadial (GIS) 12 c. 47 kyr ago that triggered an extreme and rapid shift from desert-steppe to open woodland biomes in the gateway to Europe. We conclude that the extreme environmental impact of Heinrich H5 within a situation of competitive exclusion between two closely related hominids species shifted the balance in favour of modern humans. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Muller, UC Pross, J Tzedakis, PC Gamble, C Kotthoff, U Schmiedl, G Wulf, S Christanis, K |
author_facet |
Muller, UC Pross, J Tzedakis, PC Gamble, C Kotthoff, U Schmiedl, G Wulf, S Christanis, K |
author_sort |
Muller, UC |
title |
The role of climate in the spread of modern humans into Europe |
title_short |
The role of climate in the spread of modern humans into Europe |
title_full |
The role of climate in the spread of modern humans into Europe |
title_fullStr |
The role of climate in the spread of modern humans into Europe |
title_full_unstemmed |
The role of climate in the spread of modern humans into Europe |
title_sort |
role of climate in the spread of modern humans into europe |
publisher |
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1028886/ |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Greenland North Atlantic |
op_source |
QUATERNARY SCI REV , 30 (3-4) 273 - 279. (2011) |
_version_ |
1766017892671815680 |