Module 2 - Lecture 5: The Peopling of the Americas (pt. 2)

Question 1

what are megafauna?

Answer 1

large animals weighing over 100 lbs (many extinct, some still exist today)

Question 2

what is the overkill hypothesis?

how is it disputed?

Answer 2

-> too much hunting due to population growth
-> animals were vulnerable to humans
-> clovis points in megafauna remains
BUT…
-> no evidence for population increase
-> it’s not easy to kill large-game
-> extinction happened without human presence

Question 3

what is the climate change hypothesis?

Answer 3

-> the younger dryas (rapid cooling followed by rapid warming) caused extinctions
-> some megafauna couldn’t adapt, some could

Question 4

what is the tropic cascading event?

Answer 4

when megafauna-reliant plants and animals went extinct