'Pefect Storm' Of Humans And Warming Climate Led to Demise of Ice Age Giants
- 8 years ago
Scientists have long been puzzled by what caused the rapid extinction of giant Ice Age animals in the southern reaches of South America, but new research has narrowed the agents of demise down to two.
Scientists have long been puzzled by what caused the rapid extinction of giant Ice Age animals in the southern reaches of South America, but new research has narrowed the agents of demise down to two.
According to scientists working with the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide, a combination of warming climates and humans is responsible for wiping out the massive creatures.
The keys to the discovery were teeth and bones found in various caves throughout Patagonia, Argentina.
Through radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis, team members were able to construct a timeline of human occupation, climate trends, and species loss.
Alan Cooper, the lead author of the study, said, “…human colonisation didn’t immediately result in extinctions, but only as long as it stayed cold. Instead, more than 1000 years of human occupation passed before a rapid warming event occurred, and then the megafauna were extinct within a hundred years.”
Scientists have long been puzzled by what caused the rapid extinction of giant Ice Age animals in the southern reaches of South America, but new research has narrowed the agents of demise down to two.
According to scientists working with the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide, a combination of warming climates and humans is responsible for wiping out the massive creatures.
The keys to the discovery were teeth and bones found in various caves throughout Patagonia, Argentina.
Through radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis, team members were able to construct a timeline of human occupation, climate trends, and species loss.
Alan Cooper, the lead author of the study, said, “…human colonisation didn’t immediately result in extinctions, but only as long as it stayed cold. Instead, more than 1000 years of human occupation passed before a rapid warming event occurred, and then the megafauna were extinct within a hundred years.”