[ForGod'sSake]

The new dates also support the suggestion made by Dutch paleontologist Paul Sondaar more than a decade ago that the extinction of pygmy stegodon on Flores ca. 900,000 years ago was the result of human predation.

As if he has a clue; how so? Seems the accepted(PC?) "suggestion" is that wherever Man went, animal extinction followed. Hard to accept, but then I'm not an expert ;^)

FGS

[SunkenCiv]

The extinction of gorilla-sized lemurs on Madagascar generally is attributed to the ingress of humans, but I'm not too sure there's any evidence that it happened due to hunting (that is, I'm not aware of human teethmarks or toolmarks on remains -- not that I necessarily would be). It could have been their time... it could have been some sort of natural extinction that just barely predated the humans... it could be that the human presence on Madagascar is actually much older, and the extinction unrelated... it could be that the lemur (being a primate) died out from disease brought over by humans... it could have been habitat destruction (although the habitat didn't even begin to be destroyed until the past century or so)... the list probably could continue, but I'm out. ;')

The discovery of the tools is a biggie. Imagine how the isolationist a-holes are screwed now. Humans were not able to navigate, they say. 900,000 years ago Homo Erectus figured out how to use watercraft, left some tools on Flores. That knowledge was lost for 850,000 years, rediscovered by the ancestors of the Australian aborigines 50,000 years ago, who then migrated to Australia and various other places, and forgot all about their discovery. Then, 47,000 years later (or so) the ancestors of the Polynesians rediscovered watercraft... ;')

Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list (alt)
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.