About 50-100 thousand years ago, several continents of the Earth were inhabited by dozens of species of giant herbivores and birds of prey - the so-called "birds of horror". However, by the beginning of the historical period, most of them died out. According to Gifford Miller of the University of Colorado in Boulder (USA), this was the result of a human "invasion".
Charred shell
The "Birds of Terror" were three meters tall, had a powerful beak and legs, but could not fly. Few species, such as the New Zealand moa, disappeared shortly before the discovery of Australia and New Zealand by European travelers. The extinction period began about 45 thousand years ago, when these territories were first inhabited by humans, scientists say.
Miller and his colleagues examined fragments of the eggshell of the so-called Genyornis newtoni, which became extinct about 40 thousand years ago. Having studied the contents of more than two thousand fossil clutches found in different regions of Australia, they drew attention to the fact that all shells older than 47 thousand years old were clean and did not bear traces of fire, while the younger "samples" were severely burned. This could indicate two things - either the eggs suffered from forest and steppe fires, or served as food for the ancient aborigines who cooked them on fires. By the way, a similar story happened with the fossil eggs of emu ostriches.
Previously, it was believed that the prehistoric fauna of Australia was subject to extinction due to climate changes on the continent. However, the discovery made by Miller's team casts doubt on this hypothesis.
Since there is evidence that the first people appeared on the territory of Australia just about 45-47 thousand years ago, and genyornis and other large representatives of the megafauna became extinct about five thousand years later, the version of eating eggs seems to be the most probable.
“We cannot think of a fire scenario that would result in the same temperature fluctuations that the eggs were exposed to as we recorded when analyzing them,” says study author Gifford Miller in an article published in the journal Nature Communications. "We believe these eggs were prepared by people who threw the shells into and around the fire."
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The paleontologist and his colleagues believe that the local natives killed the "terror birds" themselves and plundered their clutches of eggs, which were then eaten. “We consider these remains to be the first and so far the only reliable evidence that ancient people hunted various representatives of Australia's megafauna,” says Miller. "We found traces of charred genyornis egg shells at over 200 locations across the continent."
Predators of the human race …
It is clear that our distant ancestors did not think about ecology or the need to preserve living species. "Birds of Terror" could pose a threat to them - indeed, these giants looked frightening, it was not in vain that they "earned" such a name. And some of them ate meat, so theoretically they could attack people.
In addition, it is in nature that some species consume others. The man was no exception. There is, however, a theory that originally all people were vegetarians. But it is not backed up by anything. The natives saw in the huge creatures, or at least in the eggs they laid, a source of food - and nothing could be done about it …
And dinosaurs too?
By the way, humanity can be involved in the extermination of giant lizards. They also disappeared from the face of the Earth simultaneously with the appearance of the first indigenous Australians. Evidence has been found that humans have killed six-meter giants, the ancestors of modern monitor lizards. Perhaps because they posed a threat to them, or perhaps for hunting purposes …
By the way, the first people could appear on Earth back in the era of the dinosaurs. In Dawson County (USA, Montana), a triceratops horn, about 33,500 years old, was discovered. Whereas, according to the official version, the giant reptiles became extinct 65 million years ago. Perhaps we are talking only about certain species. And some of them survived until the appearance of "Homo sapiens".
