I’ve been listening to Robert Garland’s The Other Side Of History: Daily Life In The Ancient World lecture series. The professor states humanity in ancient times barely survived several events, the worst of which was a super volcano erupting in Sumatra. How close was humanity to being wiped out, and who survived to continue the species?
As this far predates written word (and behaviorly modern humans, for that matter), consider also submitting this to /r/askanthropology.