The ice age is a mystery that modern scientists continue to research. Uniquely, this era did not happen just once. According to HistoryThere are at least five ice ages that have influenced Earth the most in history, with about a dozen periods of glacial expansion occurring in the last 1 million years.
The last ice age, which reached its peak 18,000 years ago, gave birth to a new “champion” on earth, namely homo sapiens. At this point, Sapiens or humans have developed and become the most dominant land creatures on earth after various megafauna such as mammoths became extinct.
This article will discuss some unique and interesting facts about the ice age. Here’s the list.
1. Time escapes from Louis Agassiz
You may feel strange when you hear the name Louis Agassiz. In fact, this man was one of the leading scientists who lived in the 19th century. As reported from Britannica, he is revered as one of the founding fathers of American science, even though he was actually French.
Apart from his other achievements, Agassiz’s research is one of the reasons why we know about the ice age. Contrary to the general consensus in the 19th century, that large-scale flooding had killed megafauna such as mammoths, Agassiz pointed to global glacial and winter activity as reasons for their extinction.
Uniquely, his research on ice ages and glacial activity is only a side job, considering that Agassiz himself is an ichthyologist.
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2. Sapiens life in the middle of the ice age
matichonweekly.com–
Although not very large and hairy, Sapiens made it through cold ice ages for thousands of years. Life at that time was difficult, but they were able to continue to adapt and finally survive until now.
By 15,000 years ago, the Sapiens lived in hunter-gatherer tribes, built shelters from mammoth bones, and sewed warm clothing out of animal fur. When there are a lot of game animals, they will collect their food supplies by burying them in permafrost or nature’s “fridge”.
At that time, Sapiens used traps to trap large animals that he was going to hunt. When animals such as mammoths entered the trap, Sapiens would attack it as a group and continue to injure it until it died.
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3. Extinction of megafauna
theconversation.com–
The last ice age was the witness when the life of mammals was determined by Darwin’s theory of evolution, survival of the fittest. The animals that developed in the ice ages were generally large and covered in fur. Scientists call them “megafauna.” They survive in cold climates and have evolved in freezing places.
Ice ages essentially turned the world into their “playground”, while other less resistant species went extinct. Megafauna herbivores are accustomed to foraging in cold environments after adapting to their environment.
For example, rhinos that lived in ice ages had shovel horn to remove snow. Not only herbivores, carnivores such as saber tooth tigers, giant bears, and dire wolves can also survive the ice age.
But around 13,000 years ago, more than three-quarters of the ice age megafauna, including mammoths, mastodons, sabertooth tigers, and giant bears went extinct. The reason is, as explained in Live Science, has been debated for years.
Scientists themselves have two main hypotheses, namely human hunting and extreme climate change. However, recent research suggests that an extraterrestrial object, possibly a comet, may have crashed in southern Canada and wiped out ancient stone age culture and the megafauna that existed at that time.
Also Read: 5 Overview of the Earth in Ancient Times, Like What?
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4. Plants in the ice age
research.amnh.org–
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As explained above, most predators were relatively easy to prey during ice ages. However, what did the herbivores eat at that time? As it turned out, almost all the herbs they wanted were there at that time. Steppes — meadows and scrub — lived in the middle of an ice age. Apart from that, there are also spruce and pine.
In warmer regions, herbs such as birch and willow are also abundant. Overall, the climate in this area of vegetation is probably very similar to, say, Siberia. However, that doesn’t mean that the ice ages didn’t destroy their vegetation.
If the plants cannot adapt to the cold climate, the only options are migration by seed or go extinct. For example, the region of Victoria, Australia, used to have some of the most diverse vegetation in the world until the ice age “wiped out” most of it.
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5. The Himalayas may have been the cause of the ice age
britannica.com–
The tallest mountains in the world, the Himalayas, may have contributed to Earth’s ice ages. As is well known, the Himalayas were born when the Indian and Eurasian plates collided about 40-50 million years ago.
These collisions have exposed large amounts of rock which, in turn, began to erode chemically, a process that removes large amounts of carbon dioxide from Earth’s atmosphere over time. This, in turn, lowered the Earth’s climate to cool enough and triggered an ice age.
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6. The Garden of Eden may have actually existed in the ice age
ancientpages.com–
Some scientists firmly believe that the Garden of Eden is real. They say that the park is located in Africa, which became a refuge for our ancestors during the ice age. About 200,000 years ago, a very wild ice age killed many species on earth.
Fortunately, a small group of early humans was able to survive this terrible cold. At that time, they discovered the coastal region of what is now South Africa. Even though the ice began to spread around the world, this area remained ice-free and habitable.
The soil is very rich in nutrients and resources for survival. Also, there are many natural caves that can be used as shelters. Of course, for a young species that is struggling to survive in extreme conditions, that place is “heaven.”
Scientists estimate that the total human population in the “Garden of Eden” is only a few hundred individuals. This theory, which is supported by many experts but lacks conclusive evidence, appears to be consistent with research showing that humans have much less genetic diversity than most other species.
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7. The “Snowball Earth” hypothesis and the warm ice age
sciencemag.org–
Even though it is called an ice age, in fact, the ice sheet only covers part of the earth. In fact, the most severe ice ages covered only about a third of the earth. Until scientists come up with a hypothesis “Snowball Earth“(Snowball Earth). In short, Snowball Earth is the” grandfather “of the ice age that destroyed all life on earth.
At this time, every part of the planet’s surface freezes, until the earth looks like a huge snowball gliding through space. There is very little life that can survive this total freezing. According to some scientific evidence quoted from Science Magazine, this period has happened once, which is about 716 million years ago.
Despite the above hypothesis, some ice ages may have been quite warm. Occasionally, “minor ice ages” occur between large-scale ice ages. This age is not very destructive, but it can still lead to hunger and various diseases.
The last minor ice age occurred in the early 14th century, when the worst occurred between 1500 and 1850. In Europe, the seas were always freezing where cold mountainous countries (like Switzerland) could only see glaciers destroying their villages.
Years without a summer occur, when bad weather affects every aspect of life and culture at that time. The minor ice ages may have contributed to why the Middle Ages have been called such a gloomy period.
Until recently, science was still trying to figure out what caused the little ice age. The reason may be due to a combination of heavy volcanic activity and decreased solar energy during this time.
The ice age on a large scale may have ended. Even so, we are still living in what is called the “interglacial period,” in which ice continues to cover at least one pole of the earth while temperatures in other regions are warmer and have less ice.
Also Read: 7 Lesser-Known Facts About the ‘Little Ice Age’, Anything?
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