Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29531318›Full record

ArticleNature2018

Humans thrived in South Africa through the Toba eruption about 74,000 years ago.

Eugene I Smith, Zenobia Jacobs, Racheal Johnsen, Minghua Ren, Erich C Fisher, Simen Oestmo, Jayne Wilkins, Jacob A Harris, Panagiotis Karkanas, Shelby Fitch and 6 more

Open access · greenAbstract readHistorical Article
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed
95.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

16 citing papers in PubMed, 118 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Paleolakes and socioecological implications of last glacial "greening" of the South African interior.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Global climate disruption and regional climate shelters after the Toba supereruption.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021
    Article
  10. Article
  11. The 4 D's of Pellagra and Progress.International journal of tryptophan research : IJTR · 2020
    Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Nicotinamide and Demographic and Disease transitions: Moderation is Best.International journal of tryptophan research : IJTR · 2019
    Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors at 9 institutions in 5 countries.

Eugene I SmithDepartment of Geoscience, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154, USA.
Zenobia JacobsARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage & Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
Racheal JohnsenDepartment of Geoscience, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154, USA.
Minghua RenDepartment of Geoscience, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154, USA.
Erich C FisherInstitute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, PO Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-2402, USA.
Simen OestmoAfrican Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape 6031, South Africa.
Jayne WilkinsHuman Evolution Research Institute, Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa.
Jacob A HarrisInstitute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, PO Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-2402, USA.
Panagiotis KarkanasMalcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science, American School of Classical Studies, Soudias 54, Athens 10676, Greece.
Shelby FitchDepartment of Geoscience, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154, USA.
Amber CiravoloDepartment of Geoscience, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154, USA.
Deborah KeenanGeoscience Consultants LLC, Henderson, Nevada 89014, USA.
Naomi CleghornAfrican Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape 6031, South Africa.
Christine S LaneDepartment of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK.
Thalassa MatthewsIziko Museums of South Africa, Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town, PO Box 61, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa.
Curtis W MareanInstitute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, PO Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-2402, USA.
University of Nevada, Las Vegas · USArizona State University · USNelson Mandela University · ZAAmerican School of Classical Studies at Athens · GRGEI Consultants · USIziko Museums of South Africa · ZAUniversity of Cambridge · GBUniversity of Cape Town · ZAUniversity of Wollongong · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Approximately 74 thousand years ago (ka), the Toba caldera erupted in Sumatra. Since the magnitude of this eruption was first established, its effects on climate, environment and humans have been debated. Here we describe the discovery of microscopic glass shards characteristic of the Youngest Toba Tuff-ashfall from the Toba eruption-in two archaeological sites on the south coast of South Africa, a region in which there is evidence for early human behavioural complexity. An independently derived dating model supports a date of approximately 74 ka for the sediments containing the Youngest Toba Tuff glass shards. By defining the input of shards at both sites, which are located nine kilometres apart, we are able to establish a close temporal correlation between them. Our high-resolution excavation and sampling technique enable exact comparisons between the input of Youngest Toba Tuff glass shards and the evidence for human occupation. Humans in this region thrived through the Toba event and the ensuing full glacial conditions, perhaps as a combined result of the uniquely rich resource base of the region and fully evolved modern human adaptation.

Indexed as

Adaptation, PsychologicalArchaeologyGeologic SedimentsGlassHistory, AncientHumansIndonesiaIndustrial DevelopmentSouth AfricaSpatio-Temporal AnalysisVolcanic Eruptions

Identifiers

PMID29531318
OpenAlexW2790087767

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.