NATS 1760 Lecture Notes - Radiocarbon Dating, Quaternary, Human Migration
26 Nov 2013
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Document Summary
Nats 1840 lecture 1 anthropomorphic extinctions in the late quarternary. Causes of extinction, removal of habitat, predators. Many large mammals became extinct in the last 50 000 years ( near time , Approximately half of 200 genera of large mammals (100 lb +) lost. Almost all extinctions of wild animals in last 50,000 anthropogenic. Extinction not only recent, not solely due to advanced science or technology. Can happen naturally, human civilization with extremely limited or extremely advanced technology. Human migration to new continents, islands, large and small mammals and birds. Overkill thesis, excessive predation, introduction of predators, competitors and disease vectors. Eg. too many rabbits, bring in fox to eat rabbits, too many rabbits eaten and cannot reproduce become extinct. Human hunting puts predation over the edge, major cause. New theories & new technologies allow us to find new evidence. Radio-carbon dating, precise estimation of extinction dates.
