Recent research reveals that early humans in southern South America relied heavily on extinct megafauna as a primary food source approximately 13,000 to 11,600 years ago. A group of archaeologists, including head archaeologist Luciano Prates, made this exciting discovery. Further analysis revealed that the bones from these enormous animals constituted the majority—more than 80%—of the remains at 15 of the 20 archaeological sites they investigated. This important discovery underscores the varied, complex diet of early human ancestors. It bolsters the idea that humans were the prime movers in the extinction of these huge megafauna.
The research published in the journal Science Advances focused in on the bones of large, now extinct, megafauna as well as their smaller animal counterparts. Researchers worked to determine their relative abundance from sample sites. The findings suggest that these giant sloths, giant armadillos, and other megafauna were the mainstays of human subsistence long before 11,600 years ago. This groundbreaking research effectively undermines past arguments against human responsibility for the extinction of these species. It implies that our own foragers had an important role to play in this debate.
Extinct Megafauna as a Food Source
Prates and his team completed a truly eye-opening analysis. One major find was that these extinct megafauna were a real staple food source, giving humans the nutritional sustenance that made thriving possible during such an important time in prehistory. These results show how much early humans depended on large mammals to nourish their communities. This dependence on the local fauna was particularly pronounced in southern South America where these species thrived.
The research team found that significant coexistence between humans and megafauna ceased around 11,600 calibrated years. This exciting discovery provides some ideas as to the timeline of human-animal interaction. Researches fixed this window by figuring the cumulative probabilities of radiocarbon dates. As these dates are tied to the fossilized remains of around some 90 percent of extinct species.
“Our results undermine one of the most widely cited objections to the hypothesis that humans are the principal cause of megafaunal extinctions and put human foragers again at the heart of the debate.” – Prates et al., Sci. Adv. 11, eadx2615
We take this as an indication of the importance of our findings. That indicates a strong link between human activity and the post-extinction events that ensued.
Methodology of the Study
To arrive at these conclusions, the research team meticulously analyzed faunal assemblages from twenty archaeological sites across southern South America. Their goal was to find the most accurate dates possible showing that humans lived at the same time as these massive animals. To do that, the new study compared the relative abundance of extinct megafauna bones with the remains of smaller species. This pristinely invasive approach provided an unprecedented window into prehistoric diets.
Their results showed that bones of long-extinct megafauna made up the overwhelming majority of the animal remains at fifteen sites. This suggests that these monsters were important players in the Meal of Early Man. So this evidence strongly corroborates Sundberg’s interpretation that these big vertebrates were a key to survival. They were all crucial at a time when resources were stretched thin.
Implications of the Findings
This new study focuses on more than diet alone. It does raise two important ecological and evolutionary questions pertaining to the extinction of megafauna. The study calls into question decades of research that has argued against human involvement in these extinctions. Rather, it places early human foragers at the center of these great extinctions, casting them as indelible forces to the megafauna population’s collapse.
Once these megafauna disappeared, large mammals the size of a woolly mammoth or larger, early humans had to alter their diets. They started adding more of the smaller critters. This transition reflects our extraordinary capacity to adapt as human beings. At the same time, it shows how environmental developments have affected our dietary habits over time.