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Cutting marks can be observed in the lower leg bone, called tarsometatarsus, of the elephant bird. These cutting marks were probably made by removing the tip of the foot.
Credit: ZSL
Humans are believed to have killed the largest birds that have ever lived. Whether true or not, new evidence shows that they coexisted for thousands of years.
Ancient extinct elephant bird bones (Aepyornis and Mullerornis) According to a new study published yesterday (Sept. 12) in the journal Science Advances, a swamp site in Madagascar shows traces of cut marks, chops marks and fractures probably due to hunting and hunting.
According to the BBC Earth, elephant birds were probably about 3 meters tall and weighed over a thousand pounds (half a ton).
Although scientists suspected that humans had annihilated this species, they did not realize how long our prehistoric ancestors coexisted with giant birds. Indeed, cutting marks revealed that humans arrived in Madagascar more than 6,000 years earlier than expected. [Wipe Out: History’s Most Mysterious Extinctions]
The researchers said in a statement that lemur bones and archaeological evidence initially led scientists to humans arriving in Madagascar about 2,400 to 4,000 years ago. Thanks to radiocarbon dating of elephant bones, this new study revealed that humans were present on the island about 10,500 years ago.
A chop mark on an elephant bird bone was probably made with a large, sharp tool.
Credit: ZSL
Most of Madagascar's megafauna – including elephants, hippos, giant turtles and giant lemurs – have disappeared less than 1,000 years ago, the statement said.
However, scientists now know that "humans seem to have coexisted with elephant birds and other species that have been extinct for more than 9,000 years, apparently with a limited negative impact on biodiversity." for most of this period, "writes James Hansford. Zoological Institute of the Zoological Society of London, said in the statement. Perhaps a "radically different extinction theory is needed to understand the huge loss of biodiversity that has occurred on the island."
We still do not know who these prehistoric people were, who arrived early; their presence is marked only by cuts and scrapes.
Originally published on Science live.
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