Max Planck Society Researchers use fossil data to reveal the primary drivers and extent of colonial era extinctions A new study published in Science Advances uses fossil and archaeological archives to demonstrate that colonial era extinctions in Guadeloupe occurred on a much more massive scale than previously thought, with more than 50% of the islands’ squamate species disappearing in the centuries after 1492 In recent years, the evidence of human impacts on Earth’s systems has caused researchers to call for recognition of a new epoch, the Anthropocene, in which human activity is a major driver of climate and ecosystem change. However, despite growing evidence of the impacts of human societies, the extent of biodiversity loss in recent centuries is still poorly understood.