The extinction of the woolly mammoth has long been attributed to climate change at the end of the last Ice Age. However, recent evidence suggests that human hunting was the primary driver. First, archaeological sites show that early humans actively hunted mammoths, with spear points embedded in bones and butchery marks on carcasses. This direct evidence indicates that hunting pressure was significant enough to reduce populations. Second, the timing of mammoth extinction coincides with the expansion of human populations across Eurasia and North America. As humans migrated, mammoth populations declined sharply, whereas earlier climate fluctuations did not cause extinction. Third, mammoths survived on isolated islands, such as Wrangel Island, until much later—around 4,000 years ago—despite similar climate changes. This suggests that climate was not the limiting factor; rather, the absence of human hunters on those islands allowed survival. Therefore, overhunting by humans, not climate, led to the mammoth's demise.
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The reading's argument that humans caused the woolly mammoth's extinction is flawed. First, while there is evidence of hunting, the number of mammoth bones with spear wounds is extremely small compared to the vast number of mammoth remains. Such limited evidence does not support the claim that hunting was intense enough to cause extinction. Second, the timing correlation is misleading. Human populations expanded after mammoth numbers had already begun to decline due to climate-driven habitat loss. In fact, in many regions, mammoths disappeared before humans even arrived. Third, the survival on Wrangel Island actually undermines the hunting hypothesis. Those mammoths were isolated and small in number, yet they persisted for thousands of years. If human hunting were the main cause, they would have been vulnerable, but they thrived until environmental changes—such as shrinking freshwater sources—finally wiped them out. Thus, climate change, not human overhunting, remains the more plausible explanation.
📝 Инструкция по письму Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they cast doubt on the specific points made in the reading passage.
📊 TOEFL Integrated Writing Rubric
Content Accuracy: Accurately capture the relationship between lecture and reading
Information Completeness: Cover all key counter-arguments from the lecture
Structure & Coherence: Logical organization and progression
Language Use: Grammar, vocabulary, expression accuracy
Scored 0-30 based on holistic scoring (original 0-5, scaled to 30).
