'Emptying Forests?' Conservation Implications of Past Human-Primate Interactions

Area of Science:

• Paleoecology
• Conservation Biology
• Archaeology

Background:

• Non-human primates face high extinction risk, with ~50% of species endangered.
• Human hunting is a suspected driver of 'empty forests', but long-term archaeological evidence is under-utilized.
• Zooarchaeology offers insights into human-primate interactions and population dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate zooarchaeological data for understanding long-term primate exploitation and conservation in South and Southeast Asia.
• To assess the application and limitations of archaeological data in primate conservation strategies.
• To reconstruct historical primate population changes over the past 45,000 years.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of zooarchaeological datasets from South and Southeast Asia.
• Review of studies spanning the last 45,000 years.
• Reconstruction of extinction, extirpation, and translocation processes.

Main Results:

• Environmental change was the dominant threat to many primate populations throughout the Holocene.
• Zooarchaeological data provides a long-term perspective on human impact.
• Historical environmental shifts foreshadow current human-induced land-use challenges.

Conclusions:

• Zooarchaeological data is crucial for understanding the historical drivers of primate population changes.
• Environmental factors, not solely human hunting, have significantly impacted primate survival.
• Understanding past environmental changes informs future conservation strategies against human-induced environmental shifts.