The last ice age cut the human population in Europe by half but some groups showed remarkable resilience to climate change.
University of Cologne-led research, released this week, found that populations did not decline consistency in the last ice age 12,000 years ago.
The study showed that the first establishment of a larger human population in north-eastern central Europe during the Final Palaeolithic period was followed by a dramatic population decline during the last cold period.
“This decline reduced the total population of Europe by half,” the research report said.
“However, the study found that some areas in central Europe show stability or even a slight increase in population size against the general trend.”
The research team believed this resilience may be linked to human migration towards eastern Europe in response to worsening climate conditions.
The research was conducted by a team of 25 prehistoric archaeologists from 20 European universities and research institutions.
It involved compiling a comprehensive database on archaeological sites from the period studied and using geostatistical methods to estimate population sizes and densities.
“The estimates indicate an increase in population density in some areas of Europe (e.g. northern Italy, Poland and north-eastern Germany) as well as a general shift of populated areas from west to east,” Researcher Isabell Schmidt said.
“These observations probably reflect the eastward movement of people in response to the very abrupt and pronounced climatic cooling…”
The full report is on the University of Cologne website.
