{"id":12812,"date":"2024-10-09T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=12812"},"modified":"2024-09-27T05:25:28","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T05:25:28","slug":"small-populations-of-stone-age-people-drove-dwarf-hippos-and-elephants-to-extinction-on-cyprus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/small-populations-of-stone-age-people-drove-dwarf-hippos-and-elephants-to-extinction-on-cyprus\/","title":{"rendered":"Small populations of Stone Age people drove dwarf hippos and elephants to extinction on Cyprus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n Corey J. A. Bradshaw<\/a>, Flinders University<\/a><\/em>; Christian Reepmeyer<\/a>, Deutsches Arch\u00e4ologisches Institut – German Archaeological Institute<\/a><\/em>, and Theodora Moutsiou<\/a>, University of Cyprus<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

Imagine growing up beside the eastern Mediterranean Sea 14,000 years ago. You\u2019re an accomplished sailor of the small watercraft you and your fellow villagers make, and you live off both the sea and the land. <\/p>\n\n

But times have been difficult \u2014 there just isn\u2019t the same amount of game or fish around as when you were a child. Maybe it\u2019s time to look elsewhere for food.<\/p>\n\n

Now imagine going farther<\/a> than ever before in your little boat<\/a>, accompanied maybe by a few others, when suddenly you spot something on the horizon. Is that an island?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An island of tiny elephants and hippos<\/h2>\n\n

Welcome to Cyprus<\/a> as the world emerges from the last ice age<\/a>. You are the first human to set your eyes on this huge, heavily forested island<\/a> teeming with food. <\/p>\n\n

When you beach your boat to have a look around, you can\u2019t believe what you\u2019re seeing \u2014 tiny boar-sized hippos and horse-sized elephants that look like babies to your eyes. There are so many of them, and you\u2019re hungry after the long journey.<\/p>\n\n

The diminutive beasts don\u2019t seem to show any fear. You easily kill a few and preserve the meat as best you can for the long journey back. <\/p>\n\n

When you get home, you are excited to let everyone in the village know what you\u2019ve found. Soon enough, you organise a major expedition back to the island.<\/p>\n\n

Of course, we\u2019ll never know if this kind of scenario took place, but it\u2019s a plausible story of how and when the first humans managed to get to Cyprus<\/a>. It also illustrates how they might have quickly brought about the demise of the tiny hippopotamus<\/a> Phanourios minor<\/em>, as well as the dwarf elephant<\/a> Palaeoloxodon cypriotes<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

Dwarf \u2018giants\u2019<\/h2>\n\n

Cyprus wasn\u2019t the only Mediterranean island with dwarf wildlife. In fact, Crete, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and many other islands had their own dwarf elephants<\/a> and hippos<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n