Pacific rats trace 2,000 years of human impact on island ecosystems
6/04/2018 06:00:00 PM
Chemical analysis of the remains of rats from archaeological sites spanning the last 2000 years on three Polynesian island systems has shown the impact that humans have had on local environments. The analysis by an international team of scientists allowed the researchers to reconstruct the rats' diets - and through them the changes made by humans to local ecosystems, including native species extinctions and changes to food webs and soil nutrients.
The Earth has arguably entered a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene, an era in which humans are bringing about significant, lasting change to the planet. While most geologists and ecologists place the origins of this era in the last 50 to 300 years, many archaeologists have argued that far-reaching human impacts on geology, biodiversity, and climate extend back millennia into the past.
Read more at
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2018/06/pacific-rats-trace-2000-years-of-human.html#wqIISjTHl5B7HDER.99
