The study found that these species, the 500kg pygmy elephant (Palaeoloxodon cypriotes) and the 130kg pygmy hippo (Phanourios minor), disappeared shortly after the arrival of humans around 14,000 years ago.
Using mathematical models combining palaeontological and archaeological data, the study, led by Professor Corey Bradshaw from Flinders University, showed that Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers likely drove these megafauna to extinction in less than 1,000 years. The results contradict previous assumptions that the emergence of a small human population could not have caused such a rapid extinction.
The research suggests that between 3,000 and 7,000 hunter-gatherers in Cyprus contributed to the decline of both species.
Source: Ferra
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