Could Neolithic Humans drive Saurian Megafauna extinct?

[Cryso Agori]

It is widely thought that the introduction of humans and the change in global weather phenomena was the cause of the extinction of most mammalian Megafauna like Mammoths and Giant Groundsloths.

Now if humans were to appear earlier within the timeline, could they do the same to Saurian Megafauna?

From Wikipedia the term Megafauna has two definitions https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megafauna

In zoology, megafauna (from Greek μέγας megas "large" and Neo-Latin fauna "animal life") are large animals. The most common thresholds to be a megafauna are weighing over 46 kilograms (100 lb)[1][2][3] (i.e., having a mass comparable to or larger than a human) or weighing over a tonne, 1,000 kilograms (2,205 lb)[1][4][5] (i.e., having a mass comparable to or larger than an ox).

For this thread let's use the first definition, weighing more than a human.


Scenario 1: 1000 Neolithic Humans appear during the Middle Jurassic period on North America https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Jurassic

Assume that humans appear initially adapted to the environment, and both dinosaurs and humans also have resistance to whatever diseases they may spread to each other. So they don't squadwipe each other with illness.

Scenario 2: 1000 Neolithic Humans appear on North America during the Late Cretaceous.

Assume that humans appear initially adapted to the environment, and both dinosaurs and humans also have resistance to whatever diseases they may spread to each other. So they don't squadwipe each other with illness.

Will endurance, pits and pointy sticks lead to the end of big dinosaurs or will the giants stand against the ingenuity of mankind?

 

[Qinglong]

Are they aware of their goal or they just start in a random location?

 

[Cryso Agori]

Are they aware of their goal or they just start in a random location?

They are not aware of their goal and they start in one of North America's forests.

 

[Qinglong]

It would be difficult I think

even by the time Mammoths were nearly wiped out human population was estimated to be roughly ~70,000 or so

 

[Cryso Agori]

It would be difficult I think

even by the time Mammoths were nearly wiped out human population was estimated to be roughly ~70,000 or so

Tbf there's no real time limit.

Imo I don't think humans would be able to drive large sauropods extinct. There simply too big, yes humans were able to kill elephants but...

Sauropods are even bigger, I can't see humans being able to take on a fully-grown large sauropod.

Humans probably wouldn't target large therapods either, for one a T-rex, Gigantosaurus, probably wouldn't care for humans, we're simply to small, we'd probably just stay clear of them.

Only reason I'd see humans needing to kill large therapods would be to keep our prey alive. That is large Hadrosaurs.

While big, there still not as giant as sauropods, I can see ancient tactics we used against elephants working on something of this size.

Ceratopsians, Ankylosaurids, and Stegosauroids are all to armored for ancient tactics to work IMO. So I believe large hadrosaurs might become the primary food source for these humans similar to deer, moose, and buffalos.

Second, is the possible extinction of large raptors. Unlike large therapods, there still small enough that they would consider humans a meal and are extremely aggressive (all Dilphosaurus specimens for example were found with really damaged and banged up arms) humans may purposely drive large raptors to extinction out of fear of them.

 

[Qinglong]

Raptors are doomed, but they definitely need to wait a few generations before aggressively targeting them

while they can't kill the largest sauropods directly they can potentially starve certain types out

 

[Cryso Agori]

Raptors are doomed, but they definitely need to wait a few generations before aggressively targeting them

while they can't kill the largest sauropods directly they can potentially starve certain types out

True, they could also drive large sauropods and therapods to extinction by targeting juveniles instead of adults.