Studies have long revealed that the prehistoric earth had experienced a volcanic super-eruption — one of the largest known in the last 2 million years — roughly 75,000 years ago, which is thought to have devastated both the world and humanity, wiping out various species that defined the planet’s ecological history.
The gigantic blast occurred at what is now Lake Toba in northwestern Sumatra, releasing at least 7.7 trillion tons – i.e. 670 cubic miles – of magma! This eruption amount is equivalent in mass to more than 19 million Empire State Buildings!
But, a recent study on the nature’s nerve-wrecking fury reveals that the ancient environmental catastrophe may not have devastated or influenced the world and humanity to the extent as once thought.
Defying the many studies supported by DNA evidence that the course of human history changed as a result of the devastation the new study unearthed prehistoric artifacts, which suggest that the blast might not have been “as catastrophic as thought before!” This is confirmed by the archaeologist Michael Petraglia of Cambridge University.
They have discovered amazingly hundreds of stone blades and other tools below and above the ancient volcanic ash layer, which surprisingly are found to be fairly similar to each other. These fossil tools are dated sometimes immediately before and after the eruption.
It seems our ancestors have “heroically” survived through even the most disastrous cataclysms, surprisingly when it accounts for such super catastrophes.
Image: NASA/JPL