Editing Deforestation (section)

===Prehistory===
The [[Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse]]<ref name="Benton" /> was an event that occurred 300 million years ago. Climate change devastated tropical rainforests causing the extinction of many plant and animal species. The change was abrupt, specifically, at this time climate became cooler and drier, conditions that are not favorable to the growth of rainforests and much of the biodiversity within them. Rainforests were fragmented forming shrinking 'islands' further and further apart. Populations such as the sub class [[Lissamphibia]] were devastated, whereas [[Reptile|Reptilia]] survived the collapse. The surviving organisms were better adapted to the drier environment left behind and served as legacies in succession after the collapse.{{Cn|date=June 2024}}

[[File: Néolithique 0001.jpg|thumb|An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, ax heads, chisels, and polishing tools.]]
Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.<ref>{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Leslie|url=https://archive.org/details/healingpowerofra00tayl|title=The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals|publisher=Square One|year=2004|isbn=9780757001444}}</ref>
Small scale deforestation was practiced by some societies for tens of thousands of years before the beginnings of civilization.<ref name="FutureEaters">{{Cite book|last=Flannery|first=T|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0730104877|title=The future eaters|publisher=Reed Books|year=1994|isbn=0-7301-0422-2|place=Melbourne}}</ref> The first evidence of deforestation appears in the [[Mesolithic period]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=Tony|year=1997|title=Clearances and Clearings: Deforestation in Mesolithic/Neolithic Britain|journal=Oxford Journal of Archaeology|volume=16|issue=2|pages=133–146|doi=10.1111/1468-0092.00030}}</ref> It was probably used to convert closed forests into more open ecosystems favourable to game animals.<ref name="FutureEaters" /> With the advent of agriculture, larger areas began to be deforested, and fire became the prime tool to clear land for crops. In Europe there is little solid evidence before 7000 BC. Mesolithic [[hunter-gatherer|foragers]] used fire to create openings for [[red deer]] and [[wild boar]]. In Great Britain, shade-tolerant species such as [[oak]] and [[Ash tree|ash]] are replaced in the [[palynology|pollen record]] by [[hazel]]s, brambles, grasses and nettles. Removal of the forests led to decreased [[transpiration]], resulting in the formation of upland [[peat bog]]s. Widespread decrease in [[elm]] [[pollen]] across Europe between 8400 and 8300 BC and 7200–7000 BC, starting in southern Europe and gradually moving north to Great Britain, may represent land [[clearing (geography)|clearing]] by fire at the onset of [[Neolithic]] agriculture.

The [[Neolithic period]] saw extensive deforestation for [[Agriculture|farming land]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=hand tool: Neolithic tools|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/254115/hand-tool/39205/Neolithic-tools|date=19 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Neolithic Age from 4,000 BC to 2,200 BC or New Stone Age|url=http://www.archaeolink.co.uk/Neolithic-Age.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304122056/http://www.archaeolink.co.uk/Neolithic-Age.html|archive-date=4 March 2007|access-date=2 October 2008|website=www.archaeolink.co.uk}}</ref> Stone axes were being made from about 3000 BC not just from flint, but from a wide variety of hard rocks from across Britain and North America as well. They include the noted [[Langdale axe industry]] in the [[English Lake District]], quarries developed at [[Penmaenmawr]] in [[North Wales]] and numerous other locations. Rough-outs were made locally near the quarries, and some were polished locally to give a fine finish. This step not only increased the [[mechanical strength]] of the axe, but also made penetration of wood easier. [[Flint]] was still used from sources such as [[Grimes Graves]] but from many other mines across Europe.

Evidence of deforestation has been found in [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] [[Crete]]; for example the environs of the [[Palace of Knossos]] were severely deforested in the [[Bronze Age]].<ref>Hogan, C. Michael (22 December 2007). [http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/10854/knossos.html#fieldnotes "Knossos fieldnotes"], ''The Modern Antiquarian''</ref>