Posted on 05/08/2021 6:58:57 AM PDT by Salman
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The study, published on May 5 in the journal Science Advances, combines archaeological evidence -- dense clusters of stone artifacts dating as far back as 92,000 years ago -- with paleoenvironmental data on the northern shores of Lake Malawi in eastern Africa to document that early humans were ecosystem engineers. They used fire in a way that prevented regrowth of the region's forests, creating a sprawling bushland that exists today.
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"This is the earliest evidence I have seen of humans fundamentally transforming their ecosystem with fire," said Jessica Thompson, assistant professor of anthropology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the paper's lead author. "It suggests that by the Late Pleistocene, humans were learning to use fire in truly novel ways. In this case, their burning caused replacement of the region's forests with the open woodlands you see today."
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(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Tell that to lightening !! /sarc
Eco terrorism is in our genetic makeup. /s
Fire is as natural as anything on the planet. In fact, many, many species of plants and trees DEPEND on it to clear a path, as it where, for their offspring.
There are seeds bound so tight that only fire can open them and many trees species rely on fires to clear competing trees so their young can get sunlight.
Early man just figured out how to use fire for their benefit, like a tree, just a lot faster.
But a lightening or volcano inspired forrest fire didn’t have any impact???
Right.
We have to ban human beings from the forests. They rub two sticks together and burn EVERYTHING!
Climate change is now cultural misappropriation.
“...stone artifacts dating as far back as 92,000 years ago...”
Stone can’t be dated; how did they arrive at 92,000 years?
I kind of dig archeology and anthropology, mostly because it is like creative storying telling. Here's a story for you. I went hiking one beautiful autumn weekend with a friend in college. The leaves were at their peak. The air was cool and crisp. We stopped in the late afternoon to setup camp. I built a fire ring and started gathering firewood for that night. It was going to be cold. My neophyte friend was completely enthusiastic about making his first campfire. While I was away getting wood, he started the fire. But he didn't know we weren't ready. I didn't clear the area around the fire ring of leaves. I came back over a hill and to my surprise he had started a forest fire. We were able to put it out, but not without great effort.
See, there's a story. We were just manipulating the ecosystem.
I assume they used some form of sedimentary dating. Find organic material at a certain depth, carbon date it at 92k and stone items found at the same depth correlate to that date.
Fire is totally natural, so there's no telling how such fires began -- maybe half were natural, half man-made, but nobody knows the true percentages.
Further, humans were not the only "ecosystem engineers".
Untold millions of large herbivores -- from elephants to wildebeests & zebras have significant effects on the vegetation they graze.
Not to say that puny little humans didn't contribute something, but it likely had more to do with the extinction of certain competing carnivore species.
Makes sense, since they can carbon date organic material, but not stone.
Ban Libtards.
There are dozens of different methods for estimating ancient ages.
Typically more than one method is available at any site and they are used to cross-check each other.
Carbon-14 is not usually effective back to 92,000 years, but other methods can be, including luminescence dating.
Early arsonists.
Man caused fire is the same as man caused climate change. Nature, without man, is always kind and benevolent. /s
Petroglyphs near the site warn we only have 91,000 years before we hit a tipping point which will cause a world wide extinction event right after the dawning of the age of aquarius
The article is not as condemnitory (sp?) as I expected. I do not doubt that Baizuo reading it will immediately jump to the conclusion that “this is when humanity first displayed its evil towards Gaia”, or somesuch twaddle. It does contain this: “The increase in archaeological sites after the last arid period, paired with the spike in charcoal and absence of forest, suggests that people were manipulating the ecosystem with fire, the researchers conclude.” This also equally suggests that during this last dry period fires started (D’oh) and humans took advantage. I think the “researchers” are confusing causation with correlation. Which is, sorrowfully, not at all uncommon. As to burning out forests and taking advantage, good for them. Nasty things hide behind those trees, like leopards.
Ping
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