Could drought have propelled the first farmers of the Near East to expand outward?

See:
"Under the Dead Sea, warnings of drought"
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2017/03/under-dead-sea-warnings-of-dire-drought.html

"Nearly 1,000 feet below the bed of the Dead Sea, scientists have found evidence that during past warm periods, the Mideast has suffered drought on scales never recorded by humans -- a possible warning for current times. Thick layers of crystalline salt show that rainfall plummeted to as little as a fifth of modern levels some 120,000 years ago, and again about 10,000 years ago. Today, the region is drying again as climate warms, and scientists say it will get worse. The new findings may cause them to rethink how much worse, in this already thirsty and volatile part of the world."

120.000 years ago sea levels were 2 meters higher than today.
I don't deney that there is a problem, but all those 'climate experts' shoud shut their mouth and admit that in fact, they don't know anything yet.

The whole discussion about climate warming is not scientific at all. It is highly politicised.

bicicleur said:

120.000 years ago sea levels were 2 meters higher than today.
I don't deney that there is a problem, but all those 'climate experts' shoud shut their mouth and admit that in fact, they don't know anything yet.

The whole discussion about climate warming is not scientific at all. It is highly politicised.

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I tend to agree as a matter of fact, but do you think there's something wrong with the data that shows that there were serious drought conditions in that area 8000 BC?

Angela said:

I tend to agree as a matter of fact, but do you think there's something wrong with the data that shows that there were serious drought conditions in that area 8000 BC?

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no that is very good, more people should learn about this
all these climate experts claim that what is happening now is exceptional, while in fact it is not
either they are stupid and uncapable to look at the truth unbiased or they are simple liars and frauds

even what happened 8000 BC was not so exceptional either, allthough I suspect the dating is not correct, I think they are witnessing the 8.2 ka climate event in the layers, or maybe the youngest dryas (12.7-11.6 ka)
even with modern science and with the most sophisticated models we simply have no understanding at all about the mechanisms of climate change

At exactly 10kya it warmed up after Younger Dryas. 10.5kya was the midsts of Younger Dryas.

The cores show a similar drop in lake level just 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, following the most recent ice age, when temperatures were probably a bit cooler than now.
Read more at https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blog...ings-of-dire-drought.html#eEEk8FzzuUXl0DtD.99

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They could be referring to the whole Holocene Warming period.

LeBrok said:

At exactly 10kya it warmed up after Younger Dryas. 10.5kya was the midsts of Younger Dryas.

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Are those uncalibrated dates or something? Holocene started 11.7 kya, not 10 kya.

Megalophias said:

Are those uncalibrated dates or something? Holocene started 11.7 kya, not 10 kya.

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Just Holocene Warmest phase. I guess, it was raining in Sahara but Near East was dry. Well, at least around Dead Sea.

LeBrok said:

At exactly 10kya it warmed up after Younger Dryas. 10.5kya was the midsts of Younger Dryas.

They could be referring to the whole Holocene Warming period.

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the youngest dryas ended 11.6 ka, not 10.5 ka

it has been proven that in the past the relationship between temperature and CO2 is not like climate experts claimed :
in the past a rise in CO2 lagged a temperature rise and not the other way around

during the Eemian interglacial, some 115 ka temperature and sea level were even higher than what is shown in this whole graph

as for the question :
Could drought have propelled the first farmers of the Near East to expand outward?

yes,
that was the 8.2 ka climate event
before that period, the Sahara was green and full of local HG
during the climate event the Sahara was empty
after the 8.2 ka climate event the Sahara became green again and was full of herders
these were the E1b1b1 Natufians who had populated Northern Africa coming from the Levant where they had left their farms

bicicleur said:

the youngest dryas ended 11.6 ka, not 10.5 ka

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Seems like, though Greenland records show very cold till 10 kya.

LeBrok said:

Seems like, though Greenland records show very cold till 10 kya.

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maybe, but not in Europe, where first Villabrunans reached the southern Baltic ca 11 ka, and where the Swiderians reappeared in Poland 11.5 ka and continued further northeast
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglemosian_culture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiderian_culture
neither in the Levant and the Upper Euphrates where the Natufians started to build new setllements 11.5 ka

to put it simple, we are near an extremity which will make certain parts of the world become uncomfortable
but if temperatures would drop again, we would be much more uncomfortable, it would be unsustainable for the present world population