A Lost Human Species and the Climate Clue We Missed with Nick Scroxton

I talk with Nick Scroxton, a leading paleoclimate scientist, about how we can use cave records to reconstruct rainfall patterns going back nearly 100,000 years. We dig into what those climate changes mean for Homo floresiensis, the so-called “Hobbit” humans, and why shifts in seasonality and drought may have played a key role in the disappearance of both a human species and its prey. This is a deep dive into climate, caves, ancient ecosystems, and how environment can shape human evolution. Dr. Nick Scroxton: https://www.nickscroxton.com/ Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Homo Floresiensis 06:30 Diet and Hunting Practices of the Hobbits 11:13 Paleoclimate Tools: Stalagmites 17:39 Dating Techniques in Paleoclimate Research 22:11 Isotope Analysis and Climate Reconstruction 32:47 Innovative Techniques in Climate Research Articles Mentioned in the Discussion Gagan et al. 2025: https://www.nature.com/articles/s4324... Gregory Forth's Between Ape and Human: https://www.amazon.com/Between-Ape-Hu... Brown et al. 2004: https://www.nature.com/articles/natur... Show notes and more on Substack: https://davidpompeani.substack.com/ #HumanEvolution, #Paleoclimate, #HomoFloresiensis, #Hobbit, #Archaeology, #Geology, #ClimateChange, #IceAge, #AncientHumans, #Prehistory, #Anthropology, #SciencePodcast, #EarthHistory, #DeepTime, #Extinction, #CaveScience, #Stalagmites, #Paleoenvironment, #Evolution, #ScienceCommunication