Remove ads

Ice Age Megafauna Survival in the Americas

I dunno, lemme think about it. I'll post something later.
 
What about glyptodonts? What might a domesticated glyptodont have looked like?
 
But would they really be beasts of burden? I mean, the Americas HAD the bison and pronghorn and musk ox, africa had Zebras, Rhinos, Wildebeasts,

What about the extinct megafauna makes them suitable for domestication? Several of the more charismatic species are too big. Penning megatherium would not be a fun activity. Of the extant members of the genus Equus, two of nine are domesticateable. Want to bet on which side of the equation the american wild horse would fall under? Sure, okay, maybe the Yukon Horse is a member of E. ferus. That's no guarantee.
 
Native Americans would still get the shit end of the stick on disease. They've got much, much less genetic diversity on immune system loci like MHC.

It's like monocropping- one well adapted disease or pest can wipe the whole field.
 
Last edited:
Vehrec said:
But would they really be beasts of burden? I mean, the Americas HAD the bison and pronghorn and musk ox, africa had Zebras, Rhinos, Wildebeasts,

What about the extinct megafauna makes them suitable for domestication? Several of the more charismatic species are too big. Penning megatherium would not be a fun activity. Of the extant members of the genus Equus, two of nine are domesticateable. Want to bet on which side of the equation the american wild horse would fall under? Sure, okay, maybe the Yukon Horse is a member of E. ferus. That's no guarantee.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Say that they are, otherwise all the divergence really makes is more things for the great white hunter character archetype to shoot at. :U
 
Going back at previous statements, there's plenty of solid evidence of Gomphoteres coexisting with humans in historic times. So counting with them as a sort of Indian Elephant analogue is pretty possible.
New World proboscidean extinctions: comparisons between North and South America

I also found a very curious document mentioning an indigenous cattle-like animal found in the Patagonia which is somewhat reliable: Un nuevo Bóvido pleistocénico de Colombia: Colombibos atactodontus | Hernández Camacho | BOLETÍN DE GEOLOGÍA

Of course this doesn't mean much, after all calling Bisons domestic is a little bit... generous.

Reading about indigenous people domesticating Mylodons is also always a joy too The Mylodon Saga | Patagonian monsters

Some food for thought I guess.
 
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top