Dr David Meltzer

Dr. David Meltzer, a Professor of Prehistory at Southern Methodist University, shares his expertise on Ice Age North America. He vividly describes how early hunter-gatherers navigated a world inhabited by woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers. The discussion highlights the significant role of ancient DNA in understanding human migration and extinction events. Meltzer also dives into the survival strategies of these early humans, their adaptation to diverse landscapes, and the controversial links between hunting practices and megafauna extinction.

Dr. David J. Meltzer, an archaeologist and expert on Ice Age America, shares insights on how the first people arrived in North America. He explains the significance of the Pleistocene Ice Age, the role of the Beringia land bridge, and the environmental shifts that allowed migration. Meltzer discusses genetic evidence of ancestral diverging, the importance of climate cycles, and argues that climate more than human activity drove the extinction of megafauna. He also highlights how these early migrations influenced long-term cultural developments.

In this discussion, Adrian Lister, a paleobiologist at the Natural History Museum, and David Meltzer, a professor at Southern Methodist University, unveil the woolly mammoth's fascinating journey. They delve into the mammoth's evolutionary adaptations to Ice Age climates, revealing how they roamed North America until as recently as 4,000 years ago. The conversation explores their dietary habits, interactions with early humans, and the implications of extinction, weaving together archaeological evidence and modern scientific discussions on their potential revival.