Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis - NEANDERTHAL APOCALYPSE

The Neanderthal Haunts all our Imaginations. Understanding how and when Neanderthals vanished is a hotly debated subject. Did volcanic eruptions deliver the last blow to Neanderthals after all? Three large Volcanic eruptions, dated to around 50,000, 45,000 and 40,000 years ago, may have devastated the Neanderthal ecosystems, resulting in the extinction of these hominins and prey animals and the severe alteration of foraging zones. Indeed, the Neanderthal demise occurred abruptly (on a geological time-scale) after the most powerful volcanic activity in Europe during the era of Neanderthal evolutionary history.

The extinction of our Neanderthal brothers and sisters was not solely due to competition with H. sapiens; catastrophic volcanic eruptions played a critical role in destabilizing their populations. Three major eruptions during their final 10,000 years— the Monte Epomeo eruption, the Pantelleria Green Tuff eruption, and the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption — significantly impacted Europe and the Mediterranean. These events disrupted ecosystems, altered climates, and may have directly influenced Neanderthal survival by destroying habitats and limiting resources.

CHAPTERS:
0:00 WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NEANDERTHALS?
3:30 NEANDERTHAL POPULATION ESTIMATES
7:30 VOLANIC ERUPTIONS 50,000 to 45,000 YEARS AGO
14:00 VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS 40,000 YEARS AGO
22:00 ORIGINS OF THE NEANDERTHALS
33:00 RAPID NEANDERTHAL EXTINCTION

SOURCES:
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...
https://www.livescience.com/archaeolo...