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website: www.VagabondGeology.com. Ancient Pathways Ancient Peoples. Week 1: beginning in East Africa. website: www.VagabondGeology.com. SESSION 3. Week 6: into Americas. Week 5: across Beringia. Week 4: into Asia. Week 3: into Europe. Week 2: into Africa. Into Europe.
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website: www.VagabondGeology.com Ancient Pathways Ancient Peoples Week 1: beginning in East Africa
website: www.VagabondGeology.com SESSION 3 Week 6: into Americas Week 5: across Beringia Week 4: into Asia Week 3: into Europe Week 2: into Africa Into Europe Week 1: beginning in East Africa
Session 3: Into Europe TODAY’S TOPICS Quick Review Lascaux Paleolithic Cave Art Out of Africa Danube Corridor
The Stone Age: 2.5 million to 4000 YBP (years before present) millions of years ago Homo sapiens homo 1 m TODAY 2 m 3 m 4 m 5 m 6 m
Homo Genus EUROPE AFRICA ASIA sapien 28,000 700,000 1,600,000 1,900,000 ‘Handy-man’ (habilis) 750,000 ‘Heidelberg man’ (heidelberg) ‘Cro-magnon man’ (sapien) ‘Peking man’ (erectus) Homo (gautengensis)? 1,600,000 ‘Java man’ (erectus)
EVOLUTION OF HOMO SAPIEN 14 Species of Homo genus!
Session 3: Into Europe TODAY’S TOPICS Quick Review Lascaux Paleolithic Cave Art Out of Africa Danube Corridor
HOW DID GEOLOGY HELP HOMO SAPIENS LEAVE AFRICA? THE STORY STARTS WITH …
CYLES OF WARMING/COOLING Historical MAXIMUM temp of Earth 77F Historical AVERAGE temp of Earth 63F Historical MINIMUM temp of Earth 50F 50 3 MYA 300 200 100 400 500 • Geologic Record shows that Earth has gone thru multiple cycles of Cooling/Warming • Cycles typically last tens of millions of years! • Last MINIMUM earth temperature was about 2 mya • Earth has been warming ever since
GLACIATION IN LAST 800,000 YRS • After the Last Global Cooling Period had reached it’s maximum, temperatures started rising • Even with generally rising temps, there were periods of cooling; 4 Glaciation Periods in the last 800,000 years • Let’s focus on the last one: Wisconsin Years BP CO2, ppm
MIGRATION TO EUROPE • Homo Sapiens is thought to have started leaving Africa around 70,000 yrs ago • Glaciers were nearing their maximum for this period • When amount of glacial ice is up, (MAXIMUM) • Sea levels are down, (MINIMUM) • Therefore Continental Margins will be wider, ocean/sea crossings smaller Amount Glaciers is up! Sea-levels are down!
OUT OF AFRICA! 70,000 th ANNIVERSARY EDITION Staring… Homo Sapiens as Sandi and Homo Neanderthalensis as Rocky
START OF MIGRATION • Africa • 70,000 years ago • Sahara & Saudi aren’t deserts yet; they’re still forest/ steppe covered • Red Sea is very low; possibly only two main lobes existed RED SEA RED SEA Normally, 15 miles Now, only 3 miles
MIGRATION TO EUROPE Two migration theories of Homo Sapien out of Africa: Migration north into Israel/ Palestine Migration across Bab al Mandab Strait to Yemen and points beyond • Africa • 70,000 years ago • Sahara & Saudi aren’t deserts yet; they’re still forested • Red Sea is very low; possibly only two main lobes of sea exists • Depart Rift Valley Rift Valley
OUT OF AFRICA! 1st Departure BUT… ISRAEL 110,000 BP UAE 106,000 BP Depart 125,000 BP Rift Valley
MT. TOBA, INDONESIA, ERUPTION • 75,000 yrs BP, Mt. Toba Volcano exploded; largest explosion on earth in 25 million years This is known as the “Toba Catastrophe Event” • Blew 2,800 times as much as ASH into the atmosphere as Mt. St. Helens (2.8 times the last explosion of Yellowstone Supervolcano) • Ash suppressed temperature of Earth by 7 degF (up to 27degF at northern latitudes!) • One theory states that 90% of Homo Sapiens that existed at the time died, leaving only 10,000 or so to re-populate the Earth!
OUT OF AFRICA…AGAIN! Romania 36,000 BP Danube Corridor Levantine Corridor 2nd Departure ISRAEL 60,000 BP UAE 62,000 BP Depart 70,000 BP Rift Valley
Session 3: Into Europe TODAY’S TOPICS Quick Review Lascaux Paleolithic Cave Art Out of Africa Danube Corridor
WHY WAS DANUBE CORRIDOR IMPORTANT? Add mountain ranges… • “Path of least resistance”- avoid hilly/mountainous routes • Major East-West corridor GEOLOGY PROVIDED SHELTER! But, there was an additional reason… • Source of water always near-by • Animals graze in valleys
GEOLOGY PROVIDED SHELTER EUROPE IN THE JURASSIC • Shallow seas covered most of Europe during this Period • Shallow seas will often form limestone reefs • Limestone is carved out by weathering & erosion = CAVES • Weathered sections become natural shelters! England Germany France
WHY WAS DANUBE CORRIDOR IMPORTANT? Add mountain ranges… • “Path of least resistance”- avoid hilly/mountainous routes • Major East-West corridor • Source of water always near-by • Animals graze in valleys • Natural Shelter
OUT OF AFRICA…AGAIN! France 30,000 BP Romania 36,000 BP Danube Corridor Dordogne Region Levantine Corridor 2nd Departure ISRAEL ,000 BP UAE ,000 BP Depart 70,000 BP Rift Valley
IINTO FRANCE! • The Danube starts SE of Strasbourg • HSapien could have continued along the path shown • On arriving in the Rhone River valley near Lyon, some went south • Others continued until reaching the Dordogne River
DORDOGNE REGION • Region of Aquitaine • Named after the Dordogne river that runs through it • Within the region are several river valleys that have carved the ancient limestone • One in particular, the Vézère RIVER, is the site of many Paleolithic rock shelters Paris DORDOGNE REGION Vézère RIVER Bordeaux Marseille Dordogne River
Vézère RIVER VALLEY • greatest density of prehistoric remains in Western Europe • no fewer than: 25 decorated caves, 148 animal remains, 844 utensils/works of art • 147 Paleolithic habitation sites • Several Paleolithic skeletal remains Most significant discovery is… LASCAUX Vézère RIVER
Session 3: Into Europe TODAY’S TOPICS Quick Review Lascaux Paleolithic Cave Art Out of Africa Danube Corridor
LA GROTTE DE LASCAUX 900 FT OF PASSAGES! Axial Gallery (72FT LONG) (-43ft) Hall of Bulls (63ft long) Chamber of Felines (So Shaft -66ft) Nave (59 ft long) Passage (56 ft long) Entry & Airlocks Apse Shaft & Great Fissure (98 ft long) (-63ft) 344 ft above valley floor Silted Up Chamber
LA GROTTE DE LASCAUX Cross-section of Lascaux Cave Surface weathering & erosion creates sediments that start to restrict entry Controlled water runoff at entry significantly reduce entry erosion Sinkhole forms at entry, flowing water creates CAVE