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The article presents the author's comments on the research paper "Environmental Imperatives Reconsidered," by Terry L. Jones and his colleagues. The author views that the paper lacks convincing demonstration of how climatic change affected the cultural growth of human population of four different studied region. He views that Jones and colleagues were correct to mention that economic factors depending on local factors influence population dynamic up to some extent.

The article presents the author's views on the research paper "Environmental Imperatives Reconsidered," by Terry L. Jones and associates, which is published within the issue. He criticizes the overstated significance given to environmental flux as a factor responsible for the extinction of the late prehistoric population in western North America. He argues that there is a lack of convincing demonstration in the paper to support the vigorous effect of climatic anomalies on human system.

A hypothesized extraterrestrial impact in North America at -~12,900 calendar years BP (12.9 ka) has been proposed as the cause of Younger Dryas climate changes, terminal Pleistocene mammalian extinctions, and a supposed "termination" of the Clovis archaeological culture. In regard to the latter, however, an examination of archaeological, geochronological, and stratigraphic evidence fails to provide evidence of a demographic collapse of post-Clovis human populations, especially where the Clovis and post-Clovis site records are reasonably well constrained chronologically. Although few Clovis sites contain evidence of an immediate post-Clovis occupation, interpreting that absence as population collapse is problematic because the great majority of Paleoindian sites also lack immediately succeeding occupations. Where multiple occupations do occur, stratigraphic hiatuses between them are readily explained by geomorphic processes. Furthermore, calibrated radiocarbon ages demonstrate continuous occupation across the time of the purported "Younger Dryas event." And, finally, the relatively few sites purported to provide direct evidence of the 12.9-ka impact are not well constrained to that time. Whether or not the proposed extraterrestrial impact occurred is matter for empirical testing in the geological record. Insofar as concerns the archaeological record, an extra- terrestrial impact is an unnecessary solution for an archaeological problem that does not exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's reply to the comments in response to his article "Environmental Imperatives Reconsidered," which was focused on the correlation between environmental factors and cultural development. The author expresses happiness over the successful accomplishment of his objectives behind writing the article. His hypothesis of medieval-drought in western North America emerged successful in evaluating the ecological themes of the region during the pre-historic age.