▶ Your Answer :
The author argues that humans are
responsible for the extinction of the various mammal species through excessive
hunting. However, the lack of explanations leads me to question validity of the
argument.
First, the author needs alternative
explanations regarding clues for mammal hunting. The author explains that fish
bones prove that the early humans hunted mammals. However, fish bones are not
equivalent to mammal bones. It is impossible to prove mammal hunting without
finding mammal bones. Furthermore, the author suggests that it is “likely” that
humans hunted mammals. Likeliness without solid evidence cannot be adequate to
explain the mammal hunting. Without more concrete evidence, it is difficult to
prove that human were involved in mammal hunting.
Second, the author needs more explanations
whether simple tools were used for hunting. It is plausible that the early humans used the
simple tools for other purposes. 7,000 years ago, people may have lacked
cutting-edge technology to build houses. Therefore, they may have had to use
simple tools for construction of simple structure. Moreover, it is more
plausible that the humans used more complex tools to catch agile, aggressive
and large mammal instead of simple tools.
Lastly, the author should provide
alternative explanations whether the extinction of most mammal species was due
to the hunting by early humans. The author overlooks other imperative factors
for the extinction of large mammals. For example, environmental factors such as
climate change. It is possible that the mammals died when the temperature
decreased considerably. In addition, they may have died because of stronger
predators. Without examining other possible factors, it is a rash conclusion
that the mammals were extinct because of hunting.
In conclusion, the author’s argument lacks
credibility on many grounds. In order to strengthen the argument, the author
should explain based on more adequate and accurate evidence and examinations on
all possible factors for the extinction of mammal species.
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