Although filled with tropical life today, the Caribbean islands have been a hotspot of mammal extinction since the end of the last glaciation, some 12,000 years ago. (sciencedaily.com)
There is now compelling evidence for many gigantic ancient floods where glacial ice dams failed time and again: At the end of the last glaciation, some 10,000 years ago, giant ice - dammed lakes in Eurasia and North America repeatedly produced huge floods. (discovermagazine.com)
Current interpretation of Y - chromosome and mtDNA data suggests that modern - day Portuguese trace a significant amount of these lineages to the paleolithic peoples who began settling the European continent between the end of the last glaciation around 45,000 years ago. (en.wikipedia.org)