The Yam period coincided with the end of the last ice age. This brought about tremendous change in the environment, with the sea levels rising and creeping steadily inland. This flooded many familiar land features and also caused a great deal of disruption to traditional patterns to life, hunting in particular. New shores were formed and totally different creatures would have washed up onto the sores. We studied 107 paintings of the Rainbow Serpent and found that the one creature that matches it most closely was the Ribboned Pipefish, which is a type of sea horse. This sea creature would have been a totally unfamiliar sight in the inland regions where the image is found and may have been the inspiration behind early paintings. So, at the end of the ice age there would have been enormous changes in animal and plant life. It's not surprising then, that the Aborigines linked this abundance to the new creatures they witnessed. Even today, Aborigines see the Rainbow Serpent as a symbol of creation, which is understandable given the increase in vegetation and the new life forms that featured when the image first appeared.