Summary and Annotated Bibliography

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Anthropology

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Apr 3, 2024

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Cluster Week 4: Question and Hypothesis – 1. What are the author(s) asking and what is their prediction of the answer? Why is this particular question important to the field at large? Did the authors find something new? Are they using a new technique? Are they verifying a previous study? The question being asked was why did most of North America’s Pleistocene mammals go extinct about 12,000 radiocarbon years ago. This question was important to the field at large because it provides data to support the mass extinction and explains a part of history scientifically. The authors are using a new technique by creating two situations and scenarios to predict whether or now radiocarbon had something to do with it. 2. Tests – How did the author(s) go about trying to answer the question? Were the methods new or had they been used before? Did they use a model or collect empirical data? The authors decided to conduct two different experiments where they changed how much radiocarbon was and used a new method that was able to decide if the research done before was accurate or not. They collected empirical data in order to test their question and went about their experiment from there. 3. Figures – What figures are included in the paper? What do they show? Explain them generally in words. Some various graphs and t-charts include the tests from the experiment that included two different variables. The figures are based on the genera that were collected from data about the number of mammals based on the time of year. 4. Conclusion – What answer did the author(s) come up with to their original question? Did it match their predictions? The authors concluded that the late Pleistocene extinctions of North American mammals led to the loss of 35 genera of large mammals, which are likely to have occurred as a synchronous event within a geologically short period. They concluded that this synchronous extinction event likely took place between 12,000 and 10,000 radiocarbon years B.P. The passage highlights that the evidence supports a rapid and catastrophic event as the cause of these extinctions. However, it also emphasizes the challenges of precisely interpreting the causes due to the incomplete fossil record and the uncertainty surrounding the dating of certain genera. 5. Further Tests – What, if any, further questions or tests did the author(s) offer to further the field? They suggested finding the loss of records in order to create a more accurate representation of the question being asked.

6. Mainstream Article – Was it successful in accurately getting across the importance of the research to a broader audience? What was the mainstream article missing from the original article? Did the mainstream article mislead about some aspect(s) of the scientific It was successful in getting its point across although it was confusing on the first read because some of the keywords/concepts weren't given a definition. If anything it provided additional information to what the mainstream article provided, and it never misled any information. Annotated Bibliography 1. Find at least 3 papers that your paper referenced (“References” or “Cited References” in Web of Science). Give full citations for these and briefly summarize them (i.e., in a paragraph or two), noting how they were used in your paper (e.g., Were they used for methods? To back up a point? etc.) MacPhee RDE (1999) Extinctions in Near Time: Causes, Contexts, and Consequences (Kluwer/Plenum, New York). "Extinctions in Near Time: Causes, Contexts, and Consequences" is a comprehensive exploration of recent extinctions in Earth's history, focusing on the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. The book delves into the various factors driving these extinctions, with a particular emphasis on human activities, climate change, habitat destruction, and invasive species. Through insightful case studies, it reveals the complex interplay of these factors and their environmental contexts. This was used in the article in order to provide context on Pleistocene times and also proposes answers to verify how extinctions occurred. Barnosky AD, Koch PL, Feranec RS, Wing SL, Shabel AB (2004) “Assessing the causes of late Pleistocene extinctions on the continents.” Science 306:70 –75. The text discusses the investigation of the causes behind the late Pleistocene extinctions that occurred on various continents. Researchers have been trying to pinpoint the factors responsible for the disappearance of numerous large mammals during this period. The text highlights that while overhunting by early human populations has long been considered a leading cause, other factors like climate change and ecological disruption may also have played significant roles. The paper addresses the causes of later extinctions throughout different continents which explains North America's extinction. It also appeared in the other article as providing evidence to this article. Grayson DK, Meltzer DJ (2003) “A requiem for North American overkill.” J Archaeol Sci 30:585–593. This is incorporated into the article by explaining why there was a great number of mass extinctions in North America, this article was also used to justify the author's initial questions. The text presents a critical reevaluation of the popular theory of overhunting by early humans as the primary cause of late Pleistocene extinctions in North America. While overkill has been a dominant hypothesis, the text argues that it doesn't fully account for the complexity and diversity of factors involved in the extinctions. Instead, the authors propose that a combination of factors,

including climate change, environmental disruption, and human predation, interacted to bring about the loss of numerous large mammal species. 2. Find at least 3 papers that cite your paper (“Citations” in Web of Science). Give full citations for these and briefly summarize them (i.e., in a paragraph or two), noting how they used your paper (e.g., Were they used for methods? To back up a point? etc.) Faith, J. T. "Late Pleistocene Climate Change, Nutrient Cycling, and the Megafaunal Extinctions in North America." Quaternary Science Reviews 30 , no. 13-14 (2011): 1675-1680. My article is used in this study to show the early period of extinction and examinates the different causes. The study investigates the complex interplay between climate change and ecological factors in the extinction of large mammals, or megafauna, during the late Pleistocene in North America. This research delves into the connections between changing environmental conditions, including alterations in nutrient cycling, and the extinction of these iconic species. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the multifaceted causes behind these extinctions and how environmental shifts played a role in reshaping the Pleistocene ecosystem. Faith, J. T. "Late Pleistocene and Holocene Mammal Extinctions on Continental Africa." Earth-Science Reviews 128 , (2014): 105-121. The research focuses on investigating the extinctions of mammals on the African continent during the late Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. It aims to identify and understand the factors that led to the disappearance of various mammal species. This study delves into the ecological, climatic, and anthropogenic drivers of these extinctions, shedding light on the complex interplay of factors that contributed to the loss of several mammal species. My article is used to also explain the early history of the causes of extinctions but it's also used to compare extinctions between Africa and North America. Faith, J. T., Jonah N. Choiniere, Christian A. Tryon, Daniel J. Peppe, and David L. Fox. "Taxonomic Status and Paleoecology of Rusingoryx Atopocranion (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), an Extinct Pleistocene Bovid from Rusinga Island, Kenya." Quaternary Research 75 , no. 3 (2011): 697-707. My paper is used in this article to suggest the comparison of extinction and also to relate to records lost that possibly hold key information on answers to the causes of mass extinctions. The study investigates the taxonomic classification and paleoecology of an extinct Pleistocene bovid species from Rusinga Island, Kenya. Through a detailed analysis of fossil remains the research aims to clarify the taxonomic status and evolutionary relationships of Rusingoryx Atopocranion, contributing to a better understanding of the biodiversity and evolutionary history of Pleistocene mammals in the region. 3. Find at least 2 papers that are neither referenced by, nor cite your paper, but are on the same topic. How do these papers fit into the larger picture of the state of the field your paper covers? Stuart, Anthony J. "Mammalian Extinctions in the Late Pleistocene of Northern Eurasia and North America." Biological Reviews 66 , no. 4 (1991): 453-562.

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The research focuses on the late Pleistocene extinctions of mammals in these regions. Similar to my article it analyzes fossil and environmental data, and the study aims to uncover the causes and contexts of these extinctions, which impacted various large mammal species. It emphasizes the need to understand the complex interplay of climatic, ecological, and human factors that contributed to the extinctions and how these extinctions varied across regions. The research sheds light on the challenges of interpreting these past events and highlights the importance of considering a range of factors in explaining the patterns of mammalian extinctions in the late Pleistocene. Alroy, John. "Constant Extinction, Constrained Diversification, and Uncoordinated Stasis in North American Mammals." Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 127 , no. 1-4 (1996): 285-311. The article delves into the evolutionary history of North American mammals. The study explores the patterns of extinction, diversification, and evolutionary stasis within this mammalian group. It connects to my article by suggesting that extinction rates have remained relatively constant over time, constraining diversification, and leading to a lack of coordinated stasis across different mammalian lineages. This research offers valuable insights into the long-term dynamics of North American mammal evolution, shedding light on how these species have persisted, diversified, and faced extinction within the continent's changing ecosystems.

Summary and Annotated Bibliography

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