Distribution and Extinction of Ungulates during the Holocene of the Southern Levant
Distribution and Extinction of Ungulates during the Holocene of the Southern Levant
复制标题
南黎凡特全新世期间有蹄类动物的分布和灭绝
作者：
E. Tsahar;I. Izhaki;S. Lev;G. Bar
背景 过去 15,000 年来，黎凡特南部（以色列、巴勒斯坦权力机构和约旦）不断地、广泛地居住着人类文化的连续阶段。人类对古代景观的长期影响产生了巨大的生态后果，并对自然环境造成了持续和加速的破坏。该地区收集的丰富的动物考古数据为重建野生物种分布的时空变化，并将其与人类人口变化联系起来提供了独特的机会。方法 对不同时期、栖息地和景观的动物园考古数据（来自 190 个考古遗址的 382 个动物骨骼组合）进行了比较。这些骨头组合被分为12个主要文化时期。建立了每个时期显示每种有蹄类动物物种存在的分布图。结论 第一次有蹄类动物大灭绝发生在当地的铁器时代（公元前 1,200-586 年），这一时期的特点是人口显着增长。在此期间，最后一种最大的野生有蹄类动物、狷羚 (Alcelaphusbuselaphus)、野牛 (Bos primigenius) 和河马 (Hippopotamus amphibius) 灭绝，随后森林栖息的鹿科动物的分布范围也随之缩小。第二次大灭绝浪潮仅发生在公元 19 世纪和 20 世纪。此外，在全新世期间灭绝的有蹄类动物的平均体重与其灭绝日期之间存在负相关关系。因此，通过栖息地破坏和不受控制的狩猎而加剧的人类活动很可能是全新世晚期黎凡特南部两次主要有蹄类动物灭绝浪潮的原因。
Background The southern Levant (Israel, Palestinian Authority and Jordan) has been continuously and extensively populated by succeeding phases of human cultures for the past 15,000 years. The long human impact on the ancient landscape has had great ecological consequences, and has caused continuous and accelerating damage to the natural environment. The rich zooarchaeological data gathered at the area provide a unique opportunity to reconstruct spatial and temporal changes in wild species distribution, and correlate them with human demographic changes. Methodology Zoo-archaeological data (382 animal bone assemblages from 190 archaeological sites) from various time periods, habitats and landscapes were compared. The bone assemblages were sorted into 12 major cultural periods. Distribution maps showing the presence of each ungulate species were established for each period. Conclusions The first major ungulate extinction occurred during the local Iron Age (1,200–586 BCE), a period characterized by significant human population growth. During that time the last of the largest wild ungulates, the hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus), aurochs (Bos primigenius) and the hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) became extinct, followed by a shrinking distribution of forest-dwelling cervids. A second major wave of extinction occurred only in the 19th and 20th centuries CE. Furthermore, a negative relationship was found between the average body mass of ungulate species that became extinct during the Holocene and their extinction date. It is thus very likely that the intensified human activity through habitat destruction and uncontrolled hunting were responsible for the two major waves of ungulate extinction in the southern Levant during the late Holocene.