Human prey choice refutes "Levantine overkill": Comment on Dembitzer et al. (2022)
Abstract
Dembitzer et al. (2022) aim to connect the Levantine faunal record to the global discussion on anthropogenic Quaternary extinctions. They provide a comprehensive database with a compelling argument, stating that hunted game body-size declined throughout the Levantine Pleistocene sequence, ca. 1.5-0.01 ma. The authors did not find rainfall or temperature proxies to significantly affect that decline. Therefore, they claim that enduring human hunting pressure caused the natural availability of larger-bodied taxa to decrease, sometimes culminating in extinction. Subsequently humans, who according to optimal foraging predictions would be inclined to hunt the largest possible animals for the highest return rates, were forced to exploit smaller-bodied taxa, assisted by novel hunting technologies. They further connect this trend to three human lineages, whereas Homo erectus sensu lato hunted the largest taxa, "archaic Homo sapiens" and Neanderthals hunting focused on smaller taxa, and fully-fledged H. sapiens targeted even smaller game.
- Publication:
-
Quaternary Science Reviews
- Pub Date:
- June 2022
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107468
- Bibcode:
- 2022QSRv..28507468O
- Keywords:
-
- Prey choice;
- Optimal foraging;
- Extinction;
- Levant;
- Megafauna;
- Hunting;
- Pleistocene;
- Paleolithic;
- Quaternary;
- Climate