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Seems that Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis might fit these observations too. "We obtained radiocarbon dates on 172 specimens from seven extinct and one extant species... spanning 15.6 to 10.0 thousand calendar years before present (ka)." YDIH event is estimated at 12900 BP and includes vast wildfires in its scenario, including in North America. Contrast that with the idea that humans have been in Sapiens form for 200…
Surviving. I learnt a new word.
Sometimes I go down these Wikipedia rabbit holes, and one of the most fascinating to me is extinct animals that were not dinosaurs. Specifically, how a lot of mammal apex predators are similar to extinct versions, just like, half the size. Like the American Lion and Direwolf. Also how this was relatively recent, as others have pointed out they think that a lot of these species went extinct around 10,000 years ago. Th…
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2v7Dil3bVNiir5BDXxGnTe?si=o...
There were crocs with beaks, crocs with plant-grinding molars, crocs that ran around upright on land (yikes). During Earth’s colder periods their range narrows to equatorial regions, and it expands northward & southward during warmer periods. They may rule again someday!
Sometimes I go down these Wikipedia rabbit holes, and one of the most fascinating to me is extinct animals that were not dinosaurs. Specifically, how a lot of mammal apex predators are similar to extinct versions, just like, half the size. Like the American Lion and Direwolf. Also how this was relatively recent, as others have pointed out they think that a lot of these species went extinct around 10,000 years ago. Th…
There have been recent evidence that seems to push that 10,000 year entry of humans into the Americas out by as much as another 10K further back.
These were modern humans so they had sapience and tools and some form of organization, but how widespread were they vs. the so called “megafauna” - we are talking about A LOT of species with very different biologies here that went extinct. And the timescale isn’t long enough so we know the smaller versions of some of these creatures existed at the same time.
Plus, was the hunting for food or defense? If primarily for food, how was the meat preserved? Its easier to imagine a group of humans with spears taking down a lone Direwolf than a pack of giant creatures.
It’s hard to reckon with humans being the primary factor in the demise of these creatures when there are still things like grizzly bears out there. I’m sure they didn’t help and in very select situations were the primary cause (such as when a very small isolated species was stuck on an island) but I just don’t know if I buy them being the primary cause of a large scale extinction of a type of organism.
The earliest estimates for large scale civilizations like the Mayans were around 7000 BC. It’s hard to imagine humans having such a widespread and profound effect without that level of organization.
But I’m a complete amateur on this subject, so this speculation is basically just what I find plausible with some cursory research. Clearly this is a hotly debated topic amongst scientists.
Seems that Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis might fit these observations too. "We obtained radiocarbon dates on 172 specimens from seven extinct and one extant species... spanning 15.6 to 10.0 thousand calendar years before present (ka)." YDIH event is estimated at 12900 BP and includes vast wildfires in its scenario, including in North America. Contrast that with the idea that humans have been in Sapiens form for 200…
Doesn’t mean this is what I think happened, but sounds just as plausible as comets causing havoc to me.
In the end IMO this field has been greatly disserviced by Hancock. The yDIH just as well might have been the correct explanation but this guy won’t stop yapping about aliens alongside the same. So the “establishment” academics seem to be very wary of this hypothesis and being associated with him. Now it’s clear that’s dumb of the academics as well, they should be logical and choose the correct hypothesis no matter what flavor it associates them with. Sad that one of the likely most important times of human history has become so contentious due to human emotion and ego coming in the way of scientific rigor.
Becoming bigger seems to a strategy driven largely by herbivores as a defense mechanism against predators. Predators seem to get bigger as a response. At least on land. At sea, it seems to work a little differently (eg we have whales that are the largest animals ever to live on Earth that live on very small animals).
But being large seems to be a fundamentally risky proposition that sooner rather than later leads to extinction. It just seems harder to adapt. If your food source gets disrupted, it's basically game over. IIRC I read something recently where the megalodon was theorized to have been driven to extinction by the emergence of the (smaller) great white shark that basically stole it's food source (combined with scarcity for other reasons).
Then again, dinosaurs were around for 150 million years so what does that say? Was the Earth just relatively stable for that period? Still, dinosaurs died out while birds lived on (and thrived).
The end of the last Ice Age killed off a bunch of our larger animals too (eg the wolly mammoth; yes I know it survived in isolation for some time later).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
We probably used fire to cook them with, and probably cause a lot of accidental fires in the process ;) Also bare in mind that except for africa those megafauna would have been relatively tame and way too unsuspecting of meat eating humans.
There's a lot of theorizing that early sapiens intentionally set fires to clear thick, impassable forests and kill game in the process. The cleared areas would make post-fire hunting easier as well.
Sometimes I go down these Wikipedia rabbit holes, and one of the most fascinating to me is extinct animals that were not dinosaurs. Specifically, how a lot of mammal apex predators are similar to extinct versions, just like, half the size. Like the American Lion and Direwolf. Also how this was relatively recent, as others have pointed out they think that a lot of these species went extinct around 10,000 years ago. Th…
There have been recent evidence that seems to push that 10,000 year entry of humans into the Americas out by as much as another 10K further back.
The easiest places to cross the American Cordillera are in southern Mexico (Chivela Pass), Nicaragua (San Juan River) and Panama. But these places are also very rainy.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
We probably used fire to cook them with, and probably cause a lot of accidental fires in the process ;) Also bare in mind that except for africa those megafauna would have been relatively tame and way too unsuspecting of meat eating humans.
There's a lot of theorizing that early sapiens intentionally set fires to clear thick, impassable forests and kill game in the process. The cleared areas would make post-fire hunting easier as well.
Trad burning in Australia has largely been to cool burn undergrowth in the forest areas (relatively small land area) and to patch burn open grass lands (majority of area)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not directly related but I recall watching a "documentary" on Discovery where this guy claimed that several monuments across the globe all matched up star patterns and similar astrological events from around 12k years ago IIRC. What I recall best was some pyramids ligning up with how the stars would have been back around that time, but they've since drifted apart. He also talked about Angkor Wat and some in South Ame…
Are you maybe thinking of Ancient Aliens? I remember an episode like that, IIRC it also had some crazier claims like pyramid complexes resembling calculator circuit boards.
What I do recall was that the main point was that these monuments were linked to something astrological, be it stars, equinoxes or similar, "that the same time" some 12k years ago.
That's why I thought of it in this context. If it were true, and the timing lining up with these big animals going away, did something big happen 12k years ago?
Of course, not taking some random guy on Discovery's word for it. But fun coincidence to think about.