Giant Sloths and Sabertooth Cats

Extinct Mammals and the Archaeology of the Ice Age Great Basin

Häftad, Engelska, 2016

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As the Ice Age came to an end, North America lost a stunning variety of animals. Mammoths, mastodons, ground-dwelling sloths the size of elephants, beavers the size of bears, pronghorn antelope the size of poodles, llamas, and carnivores to chase them—sabertooth cats, dire wolves, American lions and cheetahs; these and many more were gone by 10,000 years ago. Giant Sloths and Sabertooth Cats surveys all these animals, with a particular focus on the Great Basin. The book also explores the major attempts to explain the extinctions. Because some believe that they were due to the activities of human hunters, the author also reviews the archaeological evidence left by the earliest known human occupants of the Great Basin, showing that people were here at the same time and in the same places as many of the extinct animals. Were these animals abundant in the Great Basin? A detailed analysis of the distinctive assemblages of plants that now live in this region leads to a surprising, and perhaps controversial, conclusion about those abundances.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2016-05-20
Mått175 x 251 x 25 mm
Vikt945 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor448
FörlagUniversity of Utah Press,U.S.
ISBN9781607814696

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List of FiguresList of TablesPrefaceAcknowledgmentsA Tiny Bit of Background1. A Sloth in Prison 2. The Great Basin Now and Then 3. A Zoologically Impoverished World4. Dating an Ass 5. A Stable of Ground Sloths 6. Extinct Mammals, Dangerous Plants,? and the Early Peoples of the Great Basin 7. Clovis, Comets, and Climate:? Explaining the Extinctions Appendix 1. The Relationship between Radiocarbon (C14)? and Calendar Years for 10,000 to 25,000? Radiocarbon Years Ago Appendix 2. Common and Scientific Names of Plants Discussed in the Text Appendix 3. Tall (>6 Feet) Mechanically Defended? Plants of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts Appendix 4. Maximum Height and Armature of? Sonoran and Mojave Desert Shrubs Appendix 5. Maximum Height and Armature of? Great Basin Shrubs NotesReferencesIndex

“A remarkable and personal account. Grayson brings to life this enthralling menagerie of strange beasts—their relationships, distributions, habits, and chronology—while highlighting the fascinating history of how we have learned about them. Hugely informative and entertaining, a pleasure to read and think about.” —David E. Rhode, research professor of archaeology, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada ""This is an excellent and easily read account of the Ice Age fauna of the Great Basin. It is one of the best at relating the large animals to the vegetation and physical environment of that time and the changes that followed the climate change at the end of the Ice Age. Its discussion of the extinction event, its timing and possible causes, should be read by all scientists working in that area.” —Ernest Lundelius, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Vertebrate Paleontology, University of Texas at Austin