In 6200 BC, another mini Ice-Age occurred, causing mankind to retreat again to the oases, of which the Black Sea Lake was of course, the largest in the area. At this time, their trade boats carried obsidian, leather, pottery, herbs, essences, and ideas around the lake. The languages spoken were Proto-Semitic, Proto-Indo-European, and Proto-Kartvalian.

About 5800 BC, the cold dry climate lifted again and the rains returned. There was now about 200 years to go before the flood, and in this time, some of the more adventurous people moved out from the various oases into the now-hospitable surrounding lands. The ancient town of Hacilar, in southern Anatolia, had been abandoned till now. The people that then moved in were probably from the Black Sea lake and were technologically advanced. Their pottery was the finest anywhere in the Near East, with curvilinear figures painted in red on a cream background. Defensive walls had been completed just before the time of the flood. Soon after the flood however, the town was overrun, most likely by starving emigrants from the calamity. The conquerors then built a new fortress here and made pottery of a different style.