The Younger Dryas Period: The History of the Earth’s Drastic Climate Change at the End of the Pleistocene Era

From about 12,900 to 11,700 before present (BP), near Ice Age conditions returned to the Northern Hemisphere of the planet. It was a sudden shift from the warm temperatures that had prevailed for nearly 2,000 years. This period is referred to by archaeologists, geologists, and earth scientists as the Greenland Stadial, but it is more commonly known as the Younger Dryas. The Younger Dryas marked the end of the last glacial period, the end of the Pleistocene Era, and the beginning of the Holocene Era, which is the current era. It was a period of great change, when climate change happened quite quickly, directly affecting the flora, fauna, and humans of the Northern Hemisphere in the process. The impact on the human populations was perhaps most important because, in some places, it virtually destroyed emerging cultures, while in other places, it might have propelled humans to develop new survival traits and technologies later used to move humanity into the Neolithic era. Although scholars now know quite a bit about the Younger Dryas, many elements of it are still debated. Other aspects serve as a predictor of what humans can expect in the future.

There is, however, still plenty of information about the Younger Dryas that remains unknown or open to debate. Not all scholars agree on the dates of the Younger Dryas or how long it lasted. Even more controversial are the alternate theories about what caused the Younger Dryas and the effect it had on the Northern Hemisphere’s bio-populations. This book examines the background of the Younger Dryas, its effects on bio-populations, and how it contributed to the emergence of the Neolithic Era. Alternative theories will be examined and compared to more standard ideas currently prevailing in academia.

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Release date

Lydbog: 2. april 2025