In the first section of this three part series, we examined the background and defining characteristics of the Late Quaternary Extinctions and explored the nuances of climate change and ecology. In doing so, we showed that the support for climate as the central driver of the disappearance of so many species over the past few […]
On this blog, we’ve explored key aspects of the Pleistocene across multiple regions—South America, North America, Australia, and part of Asia. Today, we turn to Europe, a continent that has received perhaps the most attention in paleontological and Paleolithic research. The disproportionate wealth of information we have about Europe’s history is not only because of
A study came out recently which identifies a previously unknown lineage of humans from North Africa which was present during the last wet Saharan period. This lineage is most closely related to North African foragers from the genetically distinctive Iberomaurisian culture, although it differed from them in some ways. It is more closely related to
Welcome to part 2 of this series on Late Pleistocene American extinctions. In Part 1, we introduced the debate regarding the Late Pleistocene extinctions in the Americas and thoroughly explained why humans were not simply a factor, but the main factor in the demise of megafauna. In this section, we will explore the evidence for
There are few places on the planet as distinctive as Australia. With its isolated geographical location and iconic landscapes, it captures the imagination of people the world over. Picturesque red deserts, glistening beaches, and Eucalyptus woodlands may provide its most characteristic scenery, but arcane rainforests, snow-covered mountains, and much more can be found on the
One of the most contentious debates in all of archeology is when and how the Americas were first settled. For a while, it was claimed that the first people in the Americas were the “Clovis”. They were a group of big-game hunters with distinctive hunting tools that allegedly bypassed formidable glaciers through an inland ice-free
If you’re well-versed in Pleistocene ecology, you’ve almost certainly heard about the steppe-tundra, also known as the mammoth steppe. During the Last Glacial Period, this biome covered vast parts of three continents: Europe, Asia, and North America. The name “steppe-tundra” refers to the fact that it contained a unique mixture of steppe and tundra species,