What happened to the extinct African megafauna?

"If humans ... develop the ability to control their impact on the biosphere while there's still something worthwhile to save, they will do so through the acquisition of knowledge and awareness. Ecological salvation appears to depend, therefore, on the same phenomenon that initiated the current mass-extinction: the power of the human intellect. Before it can work effectively, however, toward stopping the extinction-spasm which it's causing, that intellect will have to free itself of the myths which currently becloud its understanding of the biodiversity crisis, and acquaint itself with the real ecological history of its possessors." Baz Edmeades: Megafauna - First Victims of the Human-Caused Extinction.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• megafauna
• Baz Edmeades
• Delphine du Toit
• extinction
• elephant
• rhino
• Homo habilis
• ontogenetic innovation
• Raymond
• Dart
• Paul
• Martin
• homo Sapiens
• homo erectus
• Broca's area
• Wernicke
• Olduvai
• Marakele
• South
• Africa
• Koobi
• Fora

[BAZEDMEADES]

Most interested by the your comment, Nurktwin 1960! Showed me once again just how much emotion is involved in a major paradigm change like the one that's happening in the field of the Pleistocene extinctions. We do feel naked and queasy when our certainties start crumbling, don't we?

Hold onto your hat: the old paradigm is in full retreat, and even strategic withdrawals like "perhaps some polishing off of some genera" isn't going save it from complete destruction.

[themanyone]

The megafauna ran out of carbon.

[DelphineduToit]

@SailorBarsoom yea, albeit a much impoverished selection of species.

[SailorBarsoom]

Here's something interesting: Africa is one of the few places in the world that has any megafauna LEFT, and that's where humans first showed up.

[CTT66]

Good post! I Really like your book!

[TheWs235]

Dear Baz, Hello, I just wanted to say that I think your book is FANTASTIC! It really opens your eyes about how truly powerful as a species we are, and how we can annihilate anything in our path if we are not careful. You have inspired me to study further into our origins, and plio-pleistocene fauna. Bravo. And a question, when will you post the last two sections of your book? I can't wait to read them!

[nurktwin1960]

@BAZEDMEADES What old paradigm ? I don't even understand your post.

[nurktwin1960]

@DelphineduToit Oh god. You mean you're unaware of the work by Donald Grayson? You shouldn't ask a question you don't really want the answer to. And if you don't like Grayson, just look at the timelines for human arrivals around the world. In North America alone many archaeological sites are pushing back anthropogenic dates to way beyond Clovis. And Overkill clearly depends on Clovis first.

[DelphineduToit]

@nurktwin1960 please share with us the reference details on your claim regarding 'recent advances in Paleo climate modelling'. And then, have you read Baz's book or are you just reacting to this off the top of his head video?