Recent findings from Madhya Pradesh’s Dhaba region have prompted scientists to reassess the impact of the Toba supervolcanic eruption, which occurred around 74,000 years ago on what is now Sumatra. According to a study published in Nature Communications, ancient tools unearthed at the site date back between 80,000 and 65,000 years, suggesting that the tools remained in use both before and after the eruption. Researchers assert that this continuity indicates that human populations likely endured the effects of the Toba eruption.
The Nature Communications study notes that the tools found at Dhaba share similarities with those from Africa, Australia, and the Arabian Peninsula, ranging from 285,000 to 50,000 years ago. These parallels offer compelling evidence that Homo sapiens may have migrated out of Africa earlier than previously thought.
This research focuses on the longevity of stone tools utilized in prehistoric India, suggesting they were largely unaffected by the dramatic climatic changes attributed to the super-eruption. Early humans in Central India seem to have continued their existence without significant disruption from the volcanic event.
Micheal Pertaglia, an anthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, commented on the prevailing theory regarding the Toba eruption, stating, “The big theory was that the Toba supereruption created a volcanic winter, which led to glaciation, it resculpted ecosystems and had tremendous impact on the atmosphere and landscapes,” as reported by National Geographic.
Historically, the Toba eruption, which occurred approximately 74,000 years ago, was the largest in the past two million years and was believed to have nearly eradicated human populations. The eruption left an expansive 60-mile-wide crater on the Indonesian island and distributed ash over vast distances.
This new research argues against the widespread notion that the Toba supervolcanic eruption posed an existential threat to humanity.
