Posted on 12/19/2024 3:50:53 PM PST by marktwain
For years, scientists have debated whether humans or the climate have caused the population of large mammals to decline dramatically over the past several thousand years. A new study from Aarhus University confirms that climate cannot be the explanation.
About 100,000 years ago, the first modern humans migrated out of Africa in large numbers. They were eminent at adapting to new habitats, and they settled in virtually every kind of landscape—from deserts to jungles to the icy taiga in the far north.
Part of the success was human's ability to hunt large animals. With clever hunting techniques and specially built weapons, they perfected the art of killing even the most dangerous mammals.
But unfortunately, the great success of our ancestors came at the expense of the other large mammals.
It is well-known that numerous large species went extinct during the time of worldwide colonization by modern humans. Now, new research from Aarhus University reveals that those large mammals that survived also experienced a dramatic decline.
By studying the DNA of 139 living species of large mammals, scientists have been able to show that the abundances of almost all species fell dramatically about 50,000 years ago.
This is according to Jens-Christian Svenning, a professor and head of the Danish National Research Foundation's Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) at Aarhus University and the initiator of the study.
"We've studied the evolution of large mammalian populations over the past 750,000 years. For the first 700,000 years, the populations were fairly stable, but 50,000 years ago, the curve broke, and populations fell dramatically and never recovered," he says, and continues:
"For the past 800,000 years, the globe has fluctuated between ice ages and interglacial periods about every 100,000 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Big Macs back then were to die for, I betcha!
If the large mammal killers came out of Africa, why does Africa still have large mammals?
When the first small bands of humans reached the New World, between 25,000 and 15,000 years ago, the place teamed with big, stupid game animals for thousands of years, the primary occupations were hunting big, stupid, plentiful game and making babies.
It was a golden age.
Exactly how long it lasted is not certain. Probably a least a thousand years.
This could be a reason the bow was not invented in the new world for thousands of years after it was widespread in the old world. It wasn’t needed.
The bow was never in use in Australia among aboriginal tribes, before the English settled the continent.
“If the large mammal killers came out of Africa, why does Africa still have large mammals?”
It is explained in the article.
I was just about to post the same comment. Correlation is not causation.
In North America, many species of megafauna disappeared...along with the Clovis culture. I guess the silly Clovis people couldn't adapt and hunt regular bison after they ate all the giant bison.
Over 95% of all life that has existed on this planet is extinct. We didn't do that.
I have heard the number is 99%.
Like this is news. It’s common sense and we continue to do the same thing and climate change has nothing to do with it.
Eventually we’ll kill of the human species that’s the problem and become a real conservative utopia.
Hogswallow.
I've seen that too, but I wanted to be conservative.
“They were eminent at adapting to new habitats”. Is this a new meaning foe eminent?
Somebody once said "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics."
Don't ask that.
Do not ask how they survived all the humans who were running around with the megafauna for thousands of years either.
No. No. Do not question the narrative.
I think the competing theory scientists on this subject should have a duel. A quick search shows the theories going back & forth and combined on this for years.
This has been suspected/known for a long time. Only in recent years was it pinned on ‘climate change’ for obvious political reasons.
Posted same a day or two ago. Got roasted by the asteroid crowd.
and once Barbecue sauce was invented ALL bets were off. as good as small mammals taste today can you just imagine how good a fresh brontosaur burger or T-rex ribs would be! and no bag limit!
“People, not the climate, found to have caused the decline of the giant mammals”
At least in North America that would mean that the Engines killed off their prey. In other words, they DID NOT “live at one with the land” as Elizabeth Warren keeps spouting.
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