Humans Change the World
Source Institution: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Source Exhibit: David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time
Source Url: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list
Source Kind: interpretive_topic_or_panel
Use: research inspiration only; SAGE will write original interpretation
Dossier Status: scientifically_enriched_concept_room_10
Plain Language Explanation: Humans have always interacted with environments, but the scale and intensity of that interaction changed dramatically through time. Technology, fire, hunting, settlement, agriculture, cities, industry and global transportation progressively increased the amount of energy and material moved by human societies. Within roughly the last 12,000 years, food production and permanent settlement transformed landscapes first regionally and eventually at global scale.
Evidence: Archaeological evidence documents changing tools, settlement and subsistence strategies.; Smithsonian Human Origins identifies the transition to food production within roughly the past 12,000 years as a major turning point.; Modern measurements document human alteration of land, atmosphere, water and ecosystems at global scale.
Examples From Collection: Room 10's fossils establish the changing natural world that preceded and eventually included humans.; Mammuthus primigenius; Bison priscus; Megaloceros giganteus
Common Misconception: Human influence did not begin suddenly with industrialization. Earlier people altered environments too, although the scale and rate of modern global effects are much greater.
What Scientists Still Debate: Researchers study when particular human activities began producing signals large enough to be recognized regionally or globally in archaeological and geological records.
Sources: https://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/humans-change-world; https://humanorigins.si.edu/education/introduction-human-evolution; https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/factsheets/david-h-koch-hall-fossils-deep-time
Enrichment Method: SAGE original interpretive concept; natural Earth-system change separated from human-driven change; migration, body size, ecosystem reconstruction and human impacts tied to explicit evidence and uncertainty