Climate change sparks heated debate today over its causes and solutions, but it wasn’t only a modern concern. In fact, the forces of climate have been shaping humanity for millennia—these are 10 ways climate has left its mark on our story.
10 Ways Climate Influences History
10 It Shaped Our Evolution
A wealth of archaeological and genetic evidence shows that major leaps in human evolution line up with dramatic climate shifts. About three million years ago, the first members of the genus Homo appeared just as Africa was transitioning from dense forests to sprawling savannas, forcing our ancestors to trade tree‑climbing for long‑distance walking.
That drying of the continent also reshaped diets. Early hominins no longer could rely on nearby fruit and had to become clever foragers, tracking seasonal resources across greater distances. These pressures nudged physiological and cultural changes that echo through our species today.
9 It Accelerated Stone Age Innovations
Scholars still debate how climate turbulence spurred the creative burst of our Stone Age forebears. One popular view, popularized after a 2013 study, argues that erratic weather pushed Homo sapiens to invent new tools, symbols, and ornaments as a survival strategy.
A rival theory, emerging from 2016 research, suggests that periods of climatic stability gave early humans the leisure to experiment, leading to breakthroughs independent of environmental stress. While the record shows a flurry of innovation during volatile times, the exact role of climate remains an open question.
8 Climate Change Led To Man’s Early Migrations
Our species first ventured out of Sub‑Saharan Africa when a pronounced warming phase transformed the arid northeast corridor into greener grasslands teeming with game, opening routes toward the Middle East, Asia, and Europe about 70,000 years ago.
Glacial retreats also exposed land bridges, most famously the Beringian connection between Siberia and Alaska, allowing humans to step onto the New World once ice sheets receded.
7 The Rise And Fall Of Mesopotamia
Around 12,000 years ago, the Fertile Crescent blossomed under a wet climate, giving rise to the first complex societies that harnessed the abundant rivers of Mesopotamia.
Roughly six thousand years later, abrupt droughts swept the region, prompting the abandonment of major settlements and paving the way for the ascent of cultures in North Africa and Europe as the climate turned hostile.
6 Climate Change Destroyed The Southwestern Native Americans
The Anasazi thrived in the American Southwest during a cooler, wetter interval three millennia ago, turning what is now a desert into a fertile homeland.
A severe drying event around AD 300 forced the Anasazi to disperse, and later climatic swings around AD 700 revived habitation for the Pueblo peoples, only for another downturn 650‑450 years ago to end their dominance, leaving the region largely unpopulated.
5 Droughts Brought Down Several Empires
Ancient Egypt’s golden age rested on a lush Nile valley, but a string of severe droughts between 1250 and 1100 BC weakened the kingdom, and it never fully recovered its former might.
Similarly, Greece suffered a three‑century drought from 1200‑850 BC, and the Roman Empire felt chronic water shortages beginning around AD 250, contributing to its eventual collapse.
4 Climate Change And Genghis Khan
Mongol conquests rode on a surprisingly favorable climate. After a harsh drought in the late 1100s, the early 13th century brought abundant rainfall, greening pastures and fattening the massive horse herds that powered Genghis Khan’s armies.
Ironically, those same fertile conditions in neighboring Song China kept the empire well‑supplied, limiting Khan’s advance into the south, while the Mongols themselves helped draw down atmospheric CO₂, offsetting roughly a year’s modern gasoline emissions.
3 The Spread Of The Black Plague
The Black Death claimed roughly 25 million lives across Europe and Asia between 1347 and 1353, traditionally blamed on rat‑borne fleas.
Recent research ties the pandemic to the Medieval Warm Period, when rising temperatures suppressed rodent populations, forcing the Yersinia pestis bacterium to seek human hosts, a pattern that still echoes in parts of Asia today.
2 Climate Change Let The Spanish Empire Subjugate The Americas
When Spanish conquistadors arrived, the Americas were already reeling from prolonged droughts that had weakened the Maya, whose zenith between AD 440‑660 depended on abundant rains.
A mega‑drought from 660‑1000 BC crippled the Maya, and a later severe dry spell in the 16th century sapped the Aztec Empire, leaving only 1.2 million people a century after the Spaniards first encountered the 25 million‑strong civilization.
1 Climate Change And Islam
The Arabian Peninsula endured harsh droughts during the 7th century, pushing nomadic tribes into tight‑knit communities for survival; exile meant certain death.
In AD 615, Muhammad’s followers faced exile, but by forming a new tribe in 622 they created a resilient social structure that leveraged the climate‑driven pressures, eventually spreading northward and laying the foundations of a sprawling Islamic empire.
+ Further Reading
Throughout Earth’s past, climate swings have sparked dramatic cultural shifts. Below are extra lists that dive deeper into this relentless force.
10 Animals That Surprisingly Benefit From Climate Change
10 Archaeological Sites Suffering From Climate Change
10 Conspiracy Theories About Weather Modification
10 Archaeological Discoveries Made Possible By Global Warming
Gordon Gora is a struggling author desperately trying to make it. He is working on several projects, but until he finishes one, he will write for for his bread and butter. You can write him at [email protected].