About 50 to 100 thousand years ago, several continents of the Earth had planted dozens of species of giant grassy and predatory birds called the birds of terror. By the beginning of the historical period, however, most of them had died. According to Gifford Miller from Colorado State University in Bowlder (USA), this was the result of the human repetition.

Photo: REX

Burned shell

The birds of horror had three-metre growth, a powerful cranber and legs, but not ♪♪ Only a few species, such as New Zealand Moa, had disappeared shortly before the opening of Australia and New Zealand by European travellers. The period of extinction began approximately 45,000 years ago, when the territories were first settled by human beings, scientists considered them to be scholars.

Miller and his colleagues investigated the fragments of the shell of eggs of so-called genitals (Genyornis newtoni), which had taken some 40,000 years ago. Having examined the contents of more than 2,000 mineral deposits found in different regions of Australia, they drew attention to the fact that the entire shell over 47,000 years of age was clean and had no signs of fire, while the younger "people" were very burned. This could indicate two things - either the eggs were affected by forest and stepfires or served food for ancient Aboriginals who cooked them on the fires. By the way, a similar story has been connected to the fossil eggs of the orange-am.

Previously, the prehistoric fauna of Australia was considered extinct because of climate change on the continent. However, the discovery made by Miller's team puts this hypothesis into question.

Since there are indications that the first people appeared in Australia just about 45-47 thousand years ago, and the genetics and other major megafaunas died five millennia later, the version of eggs is most likely.

"We can't come up with a fire scenario that would lead to the same temperatures that have been egged, as we recorded in their analysis," commented on the author of the Gifford Miller study in an article published in the magazine. Nature Communications♪ We believe that these eggs were made by people who threw the shell into and around the fire."