In geology, a period of climate change characterized by cold, dry conditions; also refers to the three ice ages of the last glacial period in northern Europe.
From Greek 'dryas,' meaning 'oak tree.' The term was coined to describe three distinct cold periods (Older Dryas, Younger Dryas, etc.) identified in Scandinavian ice core and pollen records, with oak populations responding to these climate shifts.
The Younger Dryas, about 12,800 years ago, was so sudden and so cold that it nearly wiped out humanity just as we were starting to farm—we were literally days away from a very different world.
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