Quaternary Extinctions: A Prehistoric Revolution

by Paul S. Martin (Editor), Richard G. Klein (Editor)

"What caused the extinction of so many animals at or near the end of the Pleistocene? Was it overkill by human hunters, the result of a major climatic change or was it just a part of some massive evolutionary turnover? Questions such as these have plagued scientists for over one hundred years and are still being heatedly debated today. Quaternary Extinctions presents the latest and most comprehensive examination of these questions." — Geological Magazine

"May be regarded as a kind of standard encyclopedia for Pleistocene vertebrate paleontology for years to come." — American Scientist

"Should be read by paleobiologists, biologists, wildlife managers, ecologists, archeologists, and anyone concerned about the ongoing extinction of plants and animals." — Science

"Uncommonly readable and varied for watchers of paleontology and the rise of humankind." — Scientific American

"Represents a quantum leap in our knowledge of Pleistocene and Holocene palaeobiology. . . . Many volumes on our bookshelves are destined to gather dust rather than attention. But not this one." — Nature

"Two strong impressions prevail when first looking into this epic compendium. One is the judicious balance of views that range over the whole continuum between monocausal, cultural, or environmental explanations. The second is that both the data base and theoretical sophistication of the protagonists in the debate have improved by a quantum leap since 1967." — American Anthropologist

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Palaeontology, History

892 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1984

About the author

Paul Sidney Martin was an American anthropologist and archaeologist.

Reviews

[Geordie · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK move along folks, move along, nothing to see here other than just the top word in reference works as to the absolute best source for extinction dates, related taxa, and fossil localities as to any particular beastie's existence from the last two million years on. What is that? You say that the boob in the John Deere hat at the end of the bar is loudly and drunkenly proclaiming that last known extinction dates for glyptodonts was no less than 1mya in Patagonia, but you know for a fact in your heart of hearts that at least two species made it through the Great American Interchange into the SW U.S. at about 40,000 B.P? That is a dynamite opportunity to pull out the QE and bean the poor sap with the real news. See how useful it can be? Plus, it also is perfect material to use for those awkward pauses during pillow talk when she inadvertantly blurts out her fantasy about "totally doing it" with the animated cat from the Cheetos commercials

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review of his later "Twilight of the Mammoths."