Quaternary extinctions in Southeast Asia

Abstract

The Quaternary extinctions have held the fascination of scientists since the concept of extinction became widely acceptable. In fact, it was the remains of those large beasts, such as the wooly mammoth, who wandered the plains of prehistoric Europe which became one of the integral arguments in the evolutionary debates of the 19th and early 20th centuries (Grayson 1984b). Interest in the megafauna extinction debate has ranged from the purely academic to the highly political, and has been studied by scientists from a range of disciplines including archaeologists, biologists, climatologists, conservationists, geologists, paleontologists, paleoanthropologists, zoologists as well as many others. The extinctions occurred on all continents save Antarctica, and at various times throughout the Pleistocene. Traditionally, the focus of research and debate has been on the Eurasian and North American extinctions but increasingly there has been considerable interest in the Australian extinctions (see, for example, the many references in Reed et al. 2006). The African extinctions have received comparatively less attention, due largely to the fact that they were less severe than any others. Lastly, the South American and, even more so, the Asian Quaternary extinctions have received the least amount of attention. The question of megafauna extinctions has, however, much relevance for today. Increased climatic variability and human-induced environmental degradation occurring throughout the world has resulting in the rapid extinction of many species. An understanding of extinctions, particularly one where we may have played a part, is integral to our ability to mitigate against further loses. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.