That's an excellent article, thanks Salmonella.
I agree the whole "Noble Savage" thing living in harmony with the land is a crock. And the article is dead on about low population/low technology having the most influence. The advent of the horse changed a lot of things for the Indians.
When Dominguez and Escalante made their multi-cultural diversity tours up Eastern Utah and down through Western Colorado in the name of Spain, the Mountain Utes acquired the horse. Along with being the about the only Indian tribe not superstitious of the high country above timberline (which they used to their advantage) the Mt Utes kicked butt of both other Indian tribes and Spanish settlements, and lived pretty good for almost a century--until the evil White Man showed up for good and ruined the party......
The current interglacial period has probably been among the warmest, the popular Megafauna like Woolly Mammoths were in decline in the northern hemisphere even before humans set foot on this continent. Humans in some instances may have hastened the extinction of remnant populations, but climate change was the real culprit.
The last Mammoths in North America were found off the coastal islands of what is now Canada and Alaska 7000 years ago. In response to the changing climate they had shrunk to the point where they were 4-5 ft at the shoulder. Mini-Mammoths. I wonder if they would've make good pack stock for hauling out elk?
Last edited by alpinecrick; 09/08/21.
