Study Suggests Stone Age , Mega Tsunami , Devastated Mesolithic Populations.
'Newsweek' reports that a massive tsunami that occurred over 8,000 years ago may have devastated coastal communities in the Stone Age.
According to a recent study, the event known as the Storegga tsunami left traces of sediment deposits in areas from Norway to eastern Greenland.
Between 8,120 and 8,175 years ago, a submarine landslide off the coast of Norway generated waves up to 40 feet high along the entire Norwegian coast.
In what is now mainland Britain, waves were between ten and twenty feet, while in the Shetland Islands, waves could have reached over 65 feet in height.
Evidence suggests that the Storegga event coincided with a massive population decline in coastal populations of nomadic, hunter gatherers during the Mesolithic period.
'Newsweek' reports that there has been an overall lack of research quantifying the impact of the tsunami on Mesolithic communities in the region.
The study, published in the 'Journal of Quaternary Science,' attempted to assess the potential impact of the catastrophic event on populations alive at the time.
This is one of the first attempts to directly link the Storegga tsunami to its effects on Mesolithic people, Patrick Sharrocks, Author of the study affiliated with the University of York and University of Leeds in England, via Newsweek.
The mortality estimations for the intertidal zone were higher than we expected with the implication that the impacts on Mesolithic people could have potentially been severe, Patrick Sharrocks, Author of the study affiliated with the University of York and University of Leeds in England, via Newsweek.
The team of researchers say their findings could be used to help us better understand the potential future impact of mega tsunamis
