Seafloor sediments record past climatic and environmental conditions. Here, the authors have reconstructed the past environment experienced by the ancestors of Japanese people. This paleoclimatic/paleoenvironmental data was analyzed in conjunction with knowledge from anthropology, archaeology, history, sociology, and economics. Many of the major social events experienced by Japanese people’s ancestors were accompanied by extreme climatic events, and at present, we are in the midst of a "warming version of an extreme climatic event." In order to overcome this challenge, we must call upon the "wisdom" that Homo sapiens is known for and act accordingly.