The late Pleistocene extinction of large mammals (megafauna) on continents is a topic of ongoing debate, with evidence suggesting that both human activity and climatic change played roles. While humans contributed to extinctions on some continents, climatic change was a key factor in others. The timing and geography of extinctions in the Northern Hemisphere are thought to be influenced by the interaction of human impacts and climatic changes. In the Southern Hemisphere, evidence is less clear, with some support for human involvement in Australia but weaker links to climate. Fifty thousand years ago, over 150 genera of megafauna existed on continents. By 10,000 years ago, at least 97 of these genera had gone extinct. Possible causes include human hunting, environmental changes, and a combination of both. If humans were responsible, it would challenge traditional views of what is "natural" and how ecosystems respond to environmental changes. Various models, such as overkill, blitzkrieg, and sitzkrieg, have been proposed to explain the extinctions. These models suggest that human hunting, habitat alteration, and the introduction of exotic species and diseases played a role. Species with low reproductive rates were particularly vulnerable. In Australia, many surviving species are nocturnal, arboreal, or live in deep forests, which is consistent with overkill models but difficult to explain by environmental change alone. On islands, humans caused extinctions through multiple effects, including predation and habitat alteration. However, the role of humans in continental extinctions is still debated. In Eurasia and Africa, the influence of humans on extinctions is considered minimal, while in Australia, North America, and South America, humans are thought to have played a primary role. Simulations suggest that overkill and blitzkrieg models can explain some extinctions, but the results depend on input parameters. The most comprehensive simulation involved the impact of North American immigrants on 41 species of large animals, with results that matched the fate of 34 species. The median time to extinction was 895 years, and the model showed how climate could influence extinctions driven by human hunting. Chronological data show that extinctions in the Northern Hemisphere coincided with climatic changes, with two pulses in northern Europe, Siberia, and Alaska. In central North America, extinctions coincided with the arrival of Clovis hunters and climatic changes. In Australia, extinctions occurred after human arrival but did not match major climatic changes. The timing of extinctions in Africa and South America is still uncertain. Archaeological and paleontological evidence suggests that humans hunted megafauna, but the evidence is not always conclusive. The number of kill sites and the proportion of kill sites relative to fossil occurrences are important factors in determining the role of human hunting. Climatic changes affected animals by altering vegetation, and ecological models suggest that proboscideans were keystone species, but theyThe late Pleistocene extinction of large mammals (megafauna) on continents is a topic of ongoing debate, with evidence suggesting that both human activity and climatic change played roles. While humans contributed to extinctions on some continents, climatic change was a key factor in others. The timing and geography of extinctions in the Northern Hemisphere are thought to be influenced by the interaction of human impacts and climatic changes. In the Southern Hemisphere, evidence is less clear, with some support for human involvement in Australia but weaker links to climate. Fifty thousand years ago, over 150 genera of megafauna existed on continents. By 10,000 years ago, at least 97 of these genera had gone extinct. Possible causes include human hunting, environmental changes, and a combination of both. If humans were responsible, it would challenge traditional views of what is "natural" and how ecosystems respond to environmental changes. Various models, such as overkill, blitzkrieg, and sitzkrieg, have been proposed to explain the extinctions. These models suggest that human hunting, habitat alteration, and the introduction of exotic species and diseases played a role. Species with low reproductive rates were particularly vulnerable. In Australia, many surviving species are nocturnal, arboreal, or live in deep forests, which is consistent with overkill models but difficult to explain by environmental change alone. On islands, humans caused extinctions through multiple effects, including predation and habitat alteration. However, the role of humans in continental extinctions is still debated. In Eurasia and Africa, the influence of humans on extinctions is considered minimal, while in Australia, North America, and South America, humans are thought to have played a primary role. Simulations suggest that overkill and blitzkrieg models can explain some extinctions, but the results depend on input parameters. The most comprehensive simulation involved the impact of North American immigrants on 41 species of large animals, with results that matched the fate of 34 species. The median time to extinction was 895 years, and the model showed how climate could influence extinctions driven by human hunting. Chronological data show that extinctions in the Northern Hemisphere coincided with climatic changes, with two pulses in northern Europe, Siberia, and Alaska. In central North America, extinctions coincided with the arrival of Clovis hunters and climatic changes. In Australia, extinctions occurred after human arrival but did not match major climatic changes. The timing of extinctions in Africa and South America is still uncertain. Archaeological and paleontological evidence suggests that humans hunted megafauna, but the evidence is not always conclusive. The number of kill sites and the proportion of kill sites relative to fossil occurrences are important factors in determining the role of human hunting. Climatic changes affected animals by altering vegetation, and ecological models suggest that proboscideans were keystone species, but they