After reading the abstract of the paper mentioned here I started wondering, why did human groups migrate away from southerner (warmer) places towards the north which is far colder and has less possibilities to grow crops and wild animals to hunt?

Was the population density too high?

And after they migrated, what did they mostly survive on? Were they hunters-gatherers? Did they cultivate? Was it not more difficult to survive in colder climates?

  • ZephyrXeroEnglish
    12•10 months ago

    I wonder if the Sahara turning into a desert could coincide with a mass migration. It used to be lush once upon a time we believe. But I can’t remember the timings of the two, so I’m purely speculating

    • @agent_flounderEnglish
      9•10 months ago

      This article indicates the opposite, actually.

      New research indicates that Homo erectus likely capitalized on a “greener” corridor through the Sahara Desert in northeastern Africa, which was wetter and more vegetated than it is today, during their migration out of Africa. Climate cycles aligned to create this green passage, facilitating their journey.

      Apparently the desertification of the Sahara is cyclic.

      Approximately every 20,000 years, the Sahara transforms into a savannah covered with lush grasses due to the angle of the Earth’s axis changing. This axis change causes the position of the North African monsoon to shift, a monsoon that could revive the Saharan region. (source)

      Here’s a graphic on the timings of early human migration. They list two migrations northeast, one occurring 120k years ago and another 100-90k years ago.