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Why the Pleistocene Ended 11,700 Years Ago — and Changed Human History
What Really Ended the Pleistocene? The Climate Shift That Changed Humanity

END OF THE PLEISTOCENE (≈ 11,700 YEARS AGO)
Marks the transition from a highly unstable Ice Age climate to the beginning of the HOLOCENE, the current interglacial period.

CLIMATE CHANGE & DATES
Rapid warming occurred after the YOUNGER DRYAS (≈ 12,900–11,700 BP), identified through GREENLAND ICE CORES (NGRIP, GISP2) and MARINE SEDIMENT RECORDS worldwide.

GLOBAL SEA LEVEL RISE
Melting ice sheets caused sea levels to rise by more than 120 meters between ~20,000 and 7,000 years ago, submerging land bridges such as BERINGIA and reshaping coastlines.

MEGAFAUNA EXTINCTION (≈ 50,000–10,000 BP)
Mammoths, giant sloths, saber-toothed cats, and other large species disappeared across EURASIA, THE AMERICAS, AND AUSTRALIA, due to combined CLIMATIC PRESSURE + HUMAN HUNTING, supported by archaeological kill sites and fossil data.

HUMAN MIGRATION & ADAPTATION
Lower sea levels enabled migrations across AFRICA → EURASIA → AMERICAS, with genetic and archaeological evidence dating major dispersals to ~70,000–15,000 years ago.

ECOLOGICAL REORGANIZATION
Forest expansion replaced cold steppes, altering fire regimes, plant diversity, and animal populations, as shown by POLLEN ANALYSIS and SEDIMENT CORES.

RISE OF AGRICULTURE (≈ 10,000–8,500 BCE)
Early domestication began independently in regions such as the FERTILE CRESCENT, YELLOW RIVER BASIN, MESOAMERICA, and THE ANDES, confirmed by carbon-dated plant remains.

ORIGINS OF CIVILIZATION
Permanent settlements, population growth, and social complexity emerged under the HOLOCENE’S CLIMATIC STABILITY, a pattern documented by archaeology and paleoclimate modeling.

SCIENTIFIC SOURCES & DISCIPLINES
Data derived from PALEOCLIMATOLOGY, ARCHAEOLOGY, and EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, including research from NOAA, IPCC, Nature, Science, and university-led ice core projects.

#HumanEvolution #IceAge #Prehistory