Early Humans and the Megafaunal Extinctions of Australia
Widespread extinctions began on the continent of Australia during the late Pleistocene. Many of the animals that disappeared were medium- to large-sized herbivores. Their demise may have resulted from early Homo sapien hunting activities. Apart from Antarctica, no other continent has fewer native terrestrial megafauna than Australia (Martin 376-397). During the late Pleistocene, only one genus and four species of terrestrial mammals over 44 kilograms survived. Most of those that became extinct were rather distinctive creatures (Scarre 44). The marsupial genera that disappeared, for example, had various oral specializations. These included the following: (1) Zaglossus (long spiny tongue); (2) Thylacoleo (large gape and short heavy jaws; (3) Phascolonus (strong mobile lips); (4) Phascolarctos (small mouth, short snout, long tongue, and deep mandible; (5) Palorchestes (trunk); (6) Zygomaturus (projecting upper lip); (7) Diprotodon (trunk-like upper lip); (8) Propleopus (long beak-like structure); (9) Protemnodon (long beak-like structure; (10) Macropus (long beak-like structure); (11) Sthenurus (deep mandible); and (12) Procoptodon (short beak-like structure and deep mandible) (Merrilees 61; Martin 376-397). Furthermore, additional genera have become extinct during historic times. These have included the Tasmanian wolf, Thylacinus, the pig-footed bandicot, Chaeropus, and others (Martin 376-397).
Australia's megafauna populations began to undergo dramatic change upon the arrival of Homo sapiens. Humans first appeared in Australia during the late Paleolithic (Chiarelli 151). By approximately 30,000 years ago, thriving communities had already been established (Moser 1-9). For instance, human remains discovered at Lake Mungo in Southeastern Australia have been dated at approximately 28,000 B.P. (Bowler & Thorne 138).
There has been considerable debate over...