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These books are fun, but should be taken with some skepticism. This particular story with large mammals is a good example. The assumed causality does not hold

by tappio 5y ago

These books are fun, but should be taken with some skepticism. This particular story with large mammals is a good example. The assumed causality does not hold closer scrutiny. Climate was also changing into something that works better for humans, and into worse for large mammals. There were many things at play. Humans may had or may not have had a role. However, it is very unlikely that humans had a defining role. Good read nevertheless! Changed my mind how I view humans as mammals, and made me dig deeper into the topic.

segu 5y ago
The fact that the first human skeletons in isolated areas (Australia, North America, Cuba) almost always coincide with the last ones of large mammals is troubling though… well explained in the book.
alecst 5y ago
I find it hard to believe that it was the climate that killed all the large mammals worldwide in a span of tens of thousands of years. But I'm open to having my mind changed.
- tappio 5y ago
  It is one of the hypotheses. It seems very likely that there were multiple factors at play in the late pleistoscene extinction. A quick search with that topic will provide you with materials. Hunting is a common hypothesis, but it is impossible to prove the causality, and world is usually not that simple. Also, prehistoric human consumption of plant food has most likely been underestimated, as the plant remain fossils have not been able to remain in such climate. Recent dental calculus has shown that humans and their fellow neanderthals ate more plants than it has been originally estimated. I don't claim to be an expert, but Harari is an excellent story teller. That narrative fits really well with his story.
  - alecst 5y ago
    You inspired me to read the Wikipedia article, which paints a pretty damning picture. It is not that far off from what is presented by Harari. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternary_extinction https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternary_extinction

by tappio 5y ago

segu 5y ago

The fact that the first human skeletons in isolated areas (Australia, North America, Cuba) almost always coincide with the last ones of large mammals is troubling though… well explained in the book.

alecst 5y ago

I find it hard to believe that it was the climate that killed all the large mammals worldwide in a span of tens of thousands of years. But I'm open to having my mind changed.

tappio 5y ago
It is one of the hypotheses. It seems very likely that there were multiple factors at play in the late pleistoscene extinction. A quick search with that topic will provide you with materials. Hunting is a common hypothesis, but it is impossible to prove the causality, and world is usually not that simple. Also, prehistoric human consumption of plant food has most likely been underestimated, as the plant remain fossils have not been able to remain in such climate. Recent dental calculus has shown that humans and their fellow neanderthals ate more plants than it has been originally estimated. I don't claim to be an expert, but Harari is an excellent story teller. That narrative fits really well with his story.
- alecst 5y ago
  You inspired me to read the Wikipedia article, which paints a pretty damning picture. It is not that far off from what is presented by Harari. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternary_extinction https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternary_extinction