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Estimates of Clovis-Era Megafaunal Populations and Their Extinction Risks

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Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

In order to evaluate the contribution that Clovis-era hunting made to the end-Pleistocene extinctions, we must examine the North American empirical evidence fairly, without using models from different continents and different taxa as blueprints for the process of human hunting impacts. Before trying to decide how (or if) Clovis hunting could have had a significant effect on American megamammal extinctions, 1 a worthwhile thing to know or estimate is the size of the continental populations of megamammals during the Clovis era. Of course, no direct measure is possible, but there are some possible clues and guides in the methods employed in modern wildlife conservation practices.

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Haynes, G. (2009). Estimates of Clovis-Era Megafaunal Populations and Their Extinction Risks. In: Haynes, G. (eds) American Megafaunal Extinctions at the End of the Pleistocene. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8793-6_3

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