The overkill hypothesis remains a major but disputed explanation for Ice Age megafaunal extinctions. It proposes that human hunting following rapid dispersal could drive prey populations extinct. Archaeological support includes butchered bones, stone points embedded in ribs, and mammoth kill sites. Researchers continue to debate how well the hypothesis fits the evidence and whether overkill, climate change, or a combination of factors drove the extinctions.
Overkill hypothesis remains a major, disputed explanation for Ice Age megafauna extinction
Key facts
- The overkill hypothesis proposes that rapid human dispersal and hunting drove or contributed to megafaunal extinctions before prey populations could adapt.
- Many researchers continue to support the hypothesis, although its explanatory strength remains debated.
- Supporting evidence includes butchered bones, stone points embedded in ribs, and kill sites associated with mammoths.
- Scientists continue to debate whether overkill, climate change, or a combination of factors caused the extinctions.
Sources
The overkill model and its impact on environmental researchpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
by L Nagaoka · 2018 · Cited by 48 — Martin argued that if people were present in the Americas alongside the megafauna, then they could have been a factor in their extinction. As an ...
Africa and Pleistocene Overkillnature.com
by PS MARTIN · 1966 · Cited by 189 — Africa and Pleistocene Overkill. Download PDF. Article; Published: 22 October 1966. Africa and Pleistocene Overkill. PAUL S. MARTIN. Nature volume 212, pages ...
A foraging theory perspective on the associational critique ...sciencedirect.com
by AL Wolfe · 2020 · Cited by 29 — The polarized nature of the recent literature on extinctions owes much to the widely influential hypothesis of “Pleistocene Overkill” put forth by Paul S.
Test of Martin's overkill hypothesis using radiocarbon dates ...pnas.org
by TA Surovell · 2016 · Cited by 134 — Central to this hypothesis is the idea that small numbers of humans can have large ecological impacts and that those impacts should be directly ...
Paul Schultz Martinen.wikipedia.org
Paul Martin's "overkill hypothesis" prevails over the climate hypothesis when the timing of megafaunal extinctions in different locales is considered ...
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