In a geological study conducted by a research team from Tel Aviv University, it was concluded that farming and deforestation caused erosion in the Dead Sea area 11,500 years ago.
From Wikipedia
The scientists drilled into the earth around the Dead Sea, extracted a core sample, and extrapolated an accurate sediment record of the past 220,000 years. This core drilling technique is also used on icebergs, from which scientists can extrapolate a wide variety of data.
In the record, the scientists found four times the increase of the normal sediment supply to the lake, suggesting accelerated rates of erosion. The leader of the study, geologist Shmuel Marco, posits that agriculture played a role in the disruption of the natural surface of the Dead Sea region which then contributed to the degeneration of the land.
“Natural vegetation was replaced by crops, animals were domesticated, grazing reduced the natural plant cover, and deforestation provided more area for grazing,” said Marco.
Researchers are now conducting further studies of the core sample to gain information about ancient earthquakes.
“It will provide us with a 220,000-year record – the most extensive earthquake record in the world.”
The information yielded from continued investigation of this core sample may prove crucial in providing a clearer historical context of that time.
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Source: USA Today (https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2017/06/06/humans-were-already-changing-environment-11500-years-ago/102545918/)