Did Huge Drought in Africa Influence Human Evolution?

Was a prolonged drought in equatorial Africa some 70,000 years ago the reason humans moved from Africa onto other continents? This is the question raised by evidence found from drilling being done in the beds of Lake Malawi in East Africa and Lake Bosumtwi in Ghana, West Africa, reports BBC News. Sediment cores reveal that Lake Malawi (which is now some 550 kilometres long and 700 metres deep) was reduced to a "couple of pools no more than 10km across and 200m deep", while Lake Bosumtwi was empty. "Only a prolonged continent-wide drought could have had this effect" and would have had "a major impact, not just on humans but on all species in equatorial Africa." Read more...

See also: Humankind's African Origins