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Louys J, Braje TJ, Chang CH, Cosgrove R, Fitzpatrick SM, Fujita M, Hawkins S, Ingicco T, Kawamura A, MacPhee RDE, McDowell MC, Meijer HJM, Piper PJ, Roberts P, Simmons AH, van den Bergh G, van der Geer A, Kealy S, O'Connor S. No evidence for widespread island extinctions after Pleistocene hominin arrival. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2023005118. [PMID: 33941645 PMCID: PMC8157961 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2023005118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The arrival of modern humans into previously unoccupied island ecosystems is closely linked to widespread extinction, and a key reason cited for Pleistocene megafauna extinction is anthropogenic overhunting. A common assumption based on late Holocene records is that humans always negatively impact insular biotas, which requires an extrapolation of recent human behavior and technology into the archaeological past. Hominins have been on islands since at least the early Pleistocene and Homo sapiens for at least 50 thousand y (ka). Over such lengthy intervals it is scarcely surprising that significant evolutionary, behavioral, and cultural changes occurred. However, the deep-time link between human arrival and island extinctions has never been explored globally. Here, we examine archaeological and paleontological records of all Pleistocene islands with a documented hominin presence to examine whether humans have always been destructive agents. We show that extinctions at a global level cannot be associated with Pleistocene hominin arrival based on current data and are difficult to disentangle from records of environmental change. It is not until the Holocene that large-scale changes in technology, dispersal, demography, and human behavior visibly affect island ecosystems. The extinction acceleration we are currently experiencing is thus not inherent but rather part of a more recent cultural complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Louys
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia;
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Todd J Braje
- Department of Anthropology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 5500
| | - Chun-Hsiang Chang
- Department of Geology, National Museum of Natural Science, 404 Taichung City, Taiwan
| | - Richard Cosgrove
- Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia
| | - Scott M Fitzpatrick
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403
- Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403
| | - Masaki Fujita
- Department of Zoology, National Museum of Nature and Science, 110-8718 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Stuart Hawkins
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Thomas Ingicco
- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle de Paris, UMR 7194, Département Homme et Environnement, Sorbonne Universités, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Ai Kawamura
- Faculty of Education, University of Toyama, 930-8555 Toyama, Japan
| | - Ross D E MacPhee
- Division of Vertebrate Zoology/Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024
| | - Matthew C McDowell
- College of Sciences and Engineering, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7005, Australia
- Field Museum of Natural History, Science and Education, Earth Sciences, Chicago, IL 60605
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
| | - Hanneke J M Meijer
- University Museum of Bergen, Department of Natural History, University of Bergen, 5007 Bergen Norway
- Human Origins Program, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20002
| | - Philip J Piper
- School of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745 Jena, Germany
- School of Social Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Alan H Simmons
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada and Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV 89512
| | - Gerrit van den Bergh
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Alexandra van der Geer
- Vertebrate Evolution, Development and Ecology, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, 2333 CR Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Shimona Kealy
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Sue O'Connor
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
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