Argentine archaeologists analyzed 21,000-year-old fossil remains bearing cut marks belonging to a specimen of the extinct glyptodon. NeosclerocalyptusThe discovery, made in the northeast of the Pampean region, on the banks of the Reconquista River, adds new insights into the earliest human settlements in southern South America, and in particular into the interactions between humans and local megafauna in the Pampean region during the last glacial period.
Paleo-Indians hunting a Glyptodon, a relative of the armadillo that lived in the Pleistocene era, by Heinrich Harder, 1920.
The timing of early human occupation in South America is a topic of intense debate and is highly relevant to studies of early human dispersal across the Americas and the potential role of humans in the end-Pleistocene large mammal extinction.
This debate is hampered by a general lack of direct archaeological evidence for early human presence or human-animal interactions.
In the current study, Dr Mariano del Papa from the National University of La Plata and his colleagues found evidence of butchery in Pleistocene mammal fossils discovered on the banks of the Reconquista River in the northeastern Pampeo region of Argentina.
The fossils examined by the team were: Neosclerocalyptus Glyptodon, a giant relative of the armadillo.
Cut marks on the pelvis, tail and parts of the armour matched known marks made by stone tools.
The placement of these marks was consistent with a slaughter procedure that targeted densely packed areas of meat.
“Radiocarbon dating has dated these fossils to approximately 21,000 years ago, approximately 6,000 years older than any other known archaeological evidence from southern South America,” the researchers said.
Distribution of cut marks on the tail vertebrae NeosclerocalyptusImage courtesy of Del Papa others., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304956.
The results are consistent with other recent studies showing early human presence in the Americas more than 20,000 years ago.
These fossils also represent some of the earliest evidence of human interaction with large mammals shortly before many of them went extinct.
“Our findings contradict the established dating framework for the earliest human occupation of southern South America, which was proposed to date back to 16,000 years ago,” the scientists said.
“Surprisingly, Recent Research “We now have reliable evidence of human habitation in Patagonia 17,300 years ago, indicating an even earlier initial settlement of southern South America.”
“Although traditional settlement models tend to support a later human migration into southern South America, we cannot exclude the possibility that humans were present and had associated cultural evidence much earlier than 16,000 years ago.”
“In this context, our findings support the growing body of archaeological evidence indicating an early human settlement in the Americas, especially the Southern Corn Islands.”
of Investigation result Published in the journal PLoS One.
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M. Delpapa others2024. Artificial cut marks on the bones of an extinct megafauna discovered in the Pampean region (Argentina) during the Last Glacial Maximum. PLoS One 19 (7): e0304956; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304956
Source: www.sci.news
