rekordy: Environmental impacts of prehistoric humans

By 12,000 years ago, more than 90% of Earth's tropical forests and 95% of its temperate forests were inhabited and shaped by Indigenous peoples.

Prehistoric and Indigenous cultures significantly transformed their environments by constructing irrigation systems and terraces, building roads and structures, clearing forests, hunting wildlife, growing crops, and managing livestock. These behaviors were common in most habitats where humans lived, and they ushered in the Anthropocene era – the epoch defined by major human impacts on the Earth. Prehistoric hunter-gatherers used fire to clear dense vegetation, improve mobility, and facilitate hunting. The development of agriculture accelerated the impact of humans on the surrounding landscapes. Farming often required clearing cropland, preparing soils, diverting or controlling water, and cultivating particular plant species. Forests and grasslands were converted into fields and pastures, while domesticated animals altered grazing patterns. Irrigation systems changed rivers, wetlands, and soil chemistry. Prehistoric and Indigenous cultures were responsible for contributing to the extinction of scores of animal species during the late Quaternary. In that time, the majority of the world’s megafauna – large animals – went extinct. Humans caused some of those extinctions by a combination of over-hunting and destruction of the animal's natural habitat. The extinctions occurred on all continents (except Antarctica) as humans moved into new regions. Because large animals typically had…

Kategoria: rekordy

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