Termite mounds over 34,000 years old hold story of climate

July 4, 2024 5:34 PM

These termite hills have been active for over 34,000 years — and they hold a snapshot of South Africa's ancient climate. Researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine some termite mounds in an arid region were about 34,000 years old.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (6 comments total)

Wow.
posted by clew at 7:09 PM on July 4 [1 favorite]

It's astounding that it's been consistently inhabited for that long! The longest I've ever lived in one place is less than 10 years...
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:12 PM on July 4

I tracked down the original article if folks are interested, looks like open access. The cross section of the wall showing the accumulation of different elements was cool! I hadn't seen figures like that before.
posted by crossswords at 7:52 PM on July 4 [6 favorites]

The longest I've ever lived in one place is less than 10 years...

The ancient termites evolved rent control. They couldn’t move to another two million bedroom mound if they wanted to. Not in this market.
posted by gelfin at 2:32 AM on July 5 [6 favorites]

Amazing, thank you for this post!
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:19 AM on July 5

good post
posted by neuron at 9:12 AM on July 5