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FYI: A more recent hypothesis of the little ice age's cause has to do with the massive pandemic that hit American Indians: American Indians used fire to control
by gwbas1c 3y ago
FYI: A more recent hypothesis of the little ice age's cause has to do with the massive pandemic that hit American Indians: American Indians used fire to control vegetation, and European contact introduced diseases that caused a massive pandemic and general societal collapse.
Or, to put it mildly, the American Indians stopped massive burning projects, which introduced less carbon into the air.
- cpursley 3y agoWell that's pretty fascinating.
- zdragnar 3y agoIt also seems to be off by a few hundred years, alas.
- bawolff 3y agoHmm? Contact happened in the early 1500s, it probably takes 50-100 years or so for forest to revert back to natural state. Doesn't seem that far off.
- zdragnar 3y agoTemperatures were steadily declining from at least roughly 1280, though it didn't reach the point of being termed "little ice age" until later. If changes to native burning due to contact-spread diseases are to be responsible, it wouldn't make sense for the temperatures to be declining for 250 years or more prior to contact.
- Daz1 3y agoEndemic*
- rcMgD2BwE72F 3y agoSource?