Re: We ATE Them All ... Why The MegaFauna Disappeared

["Followup-To:" header set to talk.politics.misc.]
On 2024-07-24, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
> https://scitechdaily.com/man-vs-nature-new-research-uncovers-real-story-behind-the-disappearance-of-earths-largest-animals/
>
> Researchers at Aarhus University have concluded that human
> hunting, rather than climate change, was the primary factor
> in the extinction of large mammals over the past 50,000
> years. This finding is based on a review of over 300
> scientific articles.
>
> Over the last 50,000 years, many large species, or
> megafauna, weighing at least 45 kilograms have gone
> extinct. Research from Aarhus University suggests that
> these extinctions were predominantly caused by human
> hunting rather than climate change, despite significant
> climate fluctuations during this period. This conclusion
> is supported by comprehensive reviews incorporating
> evidence of human hunting, archaeological data, and
> studies across various scientific fields, demonstrating
> that human activity was a more decisive factor in these
> extinctions than previously dramatic climate changes.
>
> . . .
>
>    Yep ... we ATE them.
>
>    "Climate change" wasn't nearly enough ... big
>    beasties were a high-payoff for human hunters.
>    Beats chasing 500 rabbits around in the grass.
>
>    FAIR chance WE killed-off the Neanderthals too.
>    Hey, they were "different" - "trolls", "ogres" -
>    so it was all perfectly OK ....
>
>    Maybe those "Predator" movies were correct, that
>    humans ARE an especially deadly top killer.
>
>    Yea, yea ... "human" is just a generic term, we
>    are all hybrids of hybrids of hybrids. However
>    about 300,000 years ago an especially "effective"
>    hybrid was generated (apparently in Morocco).
>
>    Just a wonder ... was human mental evolution
>    influenced by constant competition/conflict
>    with OTHER humans (and/or human-likes) ? This
>    would be an interesting "mirror" effect,
>    reflections of reflections of reflections.
>    Survival meant getting in your competitors
>    heads, anticipating what THEY might do and
>    devising work-arounds. No greater teacher
>    than competing against "yourself". WE became
>    our own top predator.
>
>    Note that todays "AI" is being taught on mass
>    quantities of "human stuff" AND the systems
>    are capable of "watching themselves" in various
>    ways and improving from the experiences.


I always felt that "climate change" was a dodge, a way of not placing
blame on us, and more to the point, not placing blame on indiginous
"first nations" peoples.

It always struck me as strange that despite all we know about humans,
indigineous peoples never seem to have driven species to extinction.