GEOG 1220 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Quaternary Extinction Event, Lower Paleolithic, Pleistocene
5 Oct 2016
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Early humans: tools, fire, ecological knowledge (if certain foods were poisonous etc. ) Evolution of tools: quartz, obsidian, copper, bronze, iron, steel. Week 2: wed sept 21/16: more and larger settlements, more technology, more sophisticated trade networks. Environmental impacts of hunting and gathering from early societies. Pleistocene overkill: 200 genera of herbivores disappeared, the overkill hypothesis argues that humans were responsible for the late pleistocene extinction of megafauna in northern eurasia and north and south america. Agricultural societies are characterized by the cultivation of domesticated plants and animals for human use. Carrying capacity: # of organisms that can be sustained by the resources in an area. Solutions: create cattle hybrids that require fewer resources, try to provide resources where they do not exist (digging wells) After 1800: increased food demand from population growth, increased demand for market crops in the transition from subsistence farming to industrial agriculture.
