The America's were the Garden of Eden
Extinct Animals of the Americas
Some of you who follow me on Instagram and Facebook may have noticed I've posted less lately. This is on purpose, for I have decided to pursue a marketing strategy on LinkedIn, looking for men over 40 who want to get fit there. Are you on LinkedIn? If you are, let's connect @HermannDiehl Mr. Skepticals eyes narrow in on me after seeing the heading of this post. “What do you mean that the Americas were the Garden of Eden?”
“I mean exactly that.”
“In a religious context? Where God created Adam and Eve?”
“I’m using what I believe is a made-up story to name the Americas, but it has nothing to do with religion. It has everything to do with archeological evidence.”
Subconscious Fat at 30,000 feet
Around 20,000-13,000 years ago, Paleo-Indian humans crossed over from Asia during the last ice age when sea levels dropped significantly. This exposed a land bridge across the Bering Strait. Small bands of hunter-gatherers followed herds of megafauna (like mammoths and bison) across Beringia, which was not a barren wasteland but rather a cold, grassy steppe.
Mr. Skeptical folds his arms and protrudes his lips. “How do we know this is true?”
“This is what most archeological and anthropological scientists believe happened.”
“I like the Bible story better. God just created Adam and Eve.”
“You can believe whatever you want. The point is we have bones of animals that were around back then, and it’s obvious that humans killed to extinction many native animals in the Americas.”
“You know, I don’t like it when people say we humans kill so many animals. It’s demeaning.”
“The first Native Americans back then were trying to survive. That’s it, and they did what they knew how to do. They hunted and killed animals for their fatty meat.”
“Yeah, I knew you had something up your sleeve. You’re going to talk about your steak and egg philosophy again.”
“I’m stating what the science shows actually happened.”
Mr. Skeptical gets up, clearly upset. “Fine, before you go into a carnivore monologue, why are you calling the Americas The Garden of Eden?”
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 feet
“Because when the first humans arrived, the animals in the Americas didn’t fear humans. Think about it. We still have elephants in Africa because they learned to fear and evolve with humans, so they haven’t gone extinct. However, in the early Americas, these animals didn’t evolve with any apelike creatures, so at first, they didn’t fear humans, so they were easily killed. The first humans to arrive in the Americas had a huge abundance of wildlife to feed on, so it was a Garden of Eden.”
“But weren’t these animals also huge? And how do we really know humans killed them?”
As one can see with the image above and the image below. The Americas had giant animals.
Below is evidence of human-made spears and arrows killing large mammoths.
There were even camels in the Americas!
Mr. Skeptical adds, “Camels here in the USA?”
“Yep. They were 20% taller than modern camels and found mainly in the Western United States from California south through Texas and even in Tennessee to the east.”
Subconscious Fat at Eye-Level
Mr. Skeptical sighs, “But what about all the mean animals like larger tigers and bears? Wouldn’t it be challenging to compete with those animals? I’m sure they ate many humans back then.”
“I’m sure many humans were killed by many predators back then. Look at the several species of tigers below.”
And the tigers weren’t the worst predators around. Back then, there was also the giant short-faced bear. See the image below.
There were even larger, scary-looking beavers back then.
Mr. Skeptical throws his arms up. “A beaver the size of Justin Bieber. I find it hard to believe that people survived with all of these huge predators around. I don’t buy it. I think climate had much to do with the animals going extinct.”
“Climate may have killed off some animals, but the evidence keeps leading to humans as the killers. You forget the one thing we had above all animals.”
“What was that?”
“Fire. It doesn’t matter how big a tiger or bear may get. If you have and control fire, you can at least keep the bear or tiger away. You can even chase them away after they’ve killed prey. And fire was what allowed humans to cook their meat so that the human brain could grow. That allowed us to develop better and better tools for hunting.”
Practical Suggestions and Conclusions
Mr. Skeptical rolls his eyes. “Please don’t give me a carnivore lecture.”
“Oh, I’m not. If, after all I’ve said and shown here today, one doesn’t realize that Homo sapiens have always prized meat and have mostly been carnivores, then nothing will.”
“Good, I feel relieved. I’m going to have a pizza. Want to join me?
“You know I don’t eat pizza.”
Mr. Skeptical smiles mischievously. “I’ll order pizza with pepperoni and toss a pepperoni or two your way.”
“Oh, you’re so kind, and you can call me Astro too. We can go where they serve pizza and chicken wings, and I’ll eat that.”
“Don’t you miss pizza?”
“Honestly, no. My mouth is watering already, thinking of juicy chicken wings.
Be aware.
PS Links on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Chat GPT was used to research and enhance this post.