Scientists determine the worst period in human history
If you had to guess what was the all-time period for human civilization, what would you guess? The time when the Black Death took its highest toll in the Middle Ages? The apex of World War I, perhaps? When did the Spanish Flu pandemic cause millions of deaths worldwide? The height of World War II on the occasion of the Holocaust? Or the year 2018? Because, well, come on, little one ...
For, according to a study by scientists at Harvard University, none of these historical moments was the worst for human civilization. According to the survey, the most dramatic period was the 6th century - with the year 536 being possibly the most terrible in human history. And you know what happened at that time? Not? Come with us find out!
Can you delete it from the calendar?
According to Michelle Starr of Science Alert, 536 marked the 10th year of the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian the Great, and although nothing extraordinary was happening this year - like ... no major war or pestilence. sinister. However, according to records left by historians of the time, the sun lost its usual brightness and resembled the moon or as if in an eternal eclipse. All year long!
So! Harvard researchers conducted an overdeveloped study on an ice core - a tube-shaped sample that is collected from glaciers or mountain peaks so that scientists can study the accumulation of ice over time - obtained from a glacier on the border between Switzerland and Italy. And this cold core "told" scientists that while humans were not killing or transmitting lethal diseases to one another, nature was beyond mad.
Evidence pointed out that exactly in the year 536 there was a large accumulation of volcanic ash and ice fragments - indicating the occurrence of a violent eruption. As it were, 4 years later, in 540, another eruption occurred, and the accumulation of material in the atmosphere not only caused a drop in global temperatures, but also affected food cultivation, plunging the planet into a period of cold and famine.
But the misfortune didn't stop there, no! In 541, he came to Justinian's Prague, a Black Death-like pandeia that would have killed an estimated 100 million people - and even contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire! Yes, dear reader, it has gotten ugly and ice cores collected in Antarctica and Greenland show the same evidence.
After the storm...
The name they got for these fantastic ice samples is quite appropriate! This is because, according to Michelle, the testimonies are true testimonies of the passage of time, since as the snow - containing the materials present in the atmosphere - falls and accumulates over the years, the resulting layers “freeze” permanently traces of hundreds and thousands of years ago, chronologically.
In the case of this accursed period of human history, the testimonies showed that it lasted a few years, but not many. Scientists know this because, in the layers, they identified lead buildup around the year 640. This element indicates the presence of pollution in the atmosphere, which is not a good thing, but it suggests that humans of the time were circling around. above, since this material was the result of obtaining silver for the production of coins.
Researchers also identified new peaks in the 660s and 695s, suggesting that things were back on track and the economy was flourishing again. Indeed, around this time, the last gold coins of the post-Roman period were produced and went out of circulation, giving way to silver ones. The evidence also showed a sharp reduction in the amount of lead in the atmosphere between 1349 and 1353 - a time that coincides perfectly with the time when the Black Death devastated Europe. Interesting, right?
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