Doggerland

 In Doggerland 13,000 years ago, the landscape was primarily a low-lying, icy tundra connecting what is now Great Britain to mainland Europe. The region was still emerging from the Last Glacial Maximum, and the climate was drastically colder and drier than today. 

Landscape and geography

• Tundra landscape: Instead of the North Sea, the area was a series of gently sloping hills, marshlands, and wide, glacial river valleys.
• Massive river system: Rivers that are now the Thames and Rhine flowed through this dry landmass, joining together in a single system before flowing into the Atlantic.
• Low sea levels: Global sea levels were around 120 meters (390 feet) lower than they are today, with much of the Earth's water still locked up in massive ice sheets. 

Climate and ecology

At 13,000 years ago, Doggerland was a harsh, subarctic environment that was experiencing dramatic climatic shifts. 

• Younger Dryas event: A sudden and significant cooling period, known as the Younger Dryas, began around 12,822 years ago (or ~10,800 BCE) and dropped temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere by 4 to 10°C. This event brought back glacial or near-glacial conditions to much of the region.
• Mammoth steppe environment: Prior to the Younger Dryas, and for much of the preceding glacial period, Doggerland was a dry, mostly treeless grassland known as the mammoth steppe.
• Key fauna: This open landscape was roamed by megafauna adapted to the cold, including woolly mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, and reindeer. 

Human habitation

• Paleolithic hunter-gatherers: Early human populations, including Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, used the area for hunting megafauna.
• Seasonal hunting grounds: Doggerland was likely used as a seasonal hunting ground, particularly along the river systems.
• 13,000-year-old remains: The bones of both extinct animals and prehistoric human remains have been dredged up by fishermen in the North Sea, including some that are 13,000 years old, confirming human presence in the region.
• Neanderthals: Neanderthals also occupied the North Sea basin for hundreds of thousands of years before the arrival of modern humans. 

The end of the Ice Age and flooding

While Doggerland was a tundra landscape 13,000 years ago, it was already on a slow and irreversible path toward inundation. 

• Melting glaciers: As the last ice age ended and temperatures steadily rose, the massive glaciers holding vast quantities of water began to melt.
• Rising sea levels: The release of this meltwater caused a significant rise in sea levels, with water encroaching on Doggerland over thousands of years.
• Transformation into wetlands: As the climate warmed, the landscape transitioned from an icy tundra into a rich, lush, and forested wetland environment, teeming with new species.
• Mesolithic inhabitants: This new, abundant environment supported vibrant communities of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, but the sea continued its advance, eventually swallowing the landmass.