The Largest Earth Movements Before the Invention of Machinery

Location of the Largest Earth Movement

Before the creation of machinery, the greatest earth movement was the result of physical changes made by humans to the environment in order to survive or produce food. Large-scale ecological changes have been attributed to early human hunters and farmers.

Prominent examples can be seen roughly 6,500 BCE, around the Mississippi River in North America, where communities constructed large earthworks in regions such as Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The oldest earthwork discovered to date is Watson Brake in Louisiana, dating back to around 3,900 BCE. Moreover, significant changes were made on continents such as Australia and North America, where hunts by our ancestors led to the extinction of many large animal species like the giant marsupials and mammoths, respectively.