At the time of the Toba eruption 74,000 years ago, humans shared the Earth with a number of similar species, including the cold-adapted Neanderthals and the dwarf Homo floresiensis. All these species made stone tools, gathered plants and hunted animals for their livelihood, and all survived the eruption and its after-effects. Nevertheless, when palaeo-climatic records are combined with genetic data that may indicate an abrupt decline in the number of humans (a genetic ‘bottleneck’) at about the time of Toba’s super-eruption, the possibility that we were driven to the edge of extinction deserves investigation. One of the most critical missing keys in understanding Toba’s impact is a lack of archaeological research looking at the actual remains left by humans who were directly affected by the YTT ashfall, particularly in India. We are not even sure if humans had reached India as part of the ‘Out of Africa’ dispersal by 74,000 years ago, although we do know that either we or a closely-related species watched the ash as it fell across the subcontinent. To resolve this problem, our main field research areas are in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh (Kurnool District) and Madhya Pradesh (Sidhi District), both of which preserve Toba volcanic deposits along with archaeological evidence of the lives and environment of the people living there from well before until well after Toba’s eruption.
This website is designed to provide an insight into the detailed science required to explore a topic as big as Toba, as well as containing links to publications, media information and educational material. We will be adding to the information here as our studies continue, so please return regularly for updates.