The descendants of these first inhabitants would become the indigenous populations of South America. The earliest generally accepted archaeological evidence for human habitation in South America dates to 14,000 years ago. It is believed the first human populations of South America may have arrived from Asia into North America via the Bering Land Bridge, and migrated southwards.Īlternatively they could have come from Polynesia across the Pacific. 'The Pampas data are evidence that some extinct species were exploited by people, probably with a low level of predation, over at least two millennia, before their extinction.' 'Campo Laborde is the only confirmed giant ground sloth kill site in the Americas. It does not support extinct megamammals surviving into the Holocene at Campo Laborde.ĭr Politis said: 'Butchering activities and resharpening of tools occurred at the site. The researchers said the study 'solidly dates' the killing and exploitation of the giant ground sloth to the late Pleistocene. The study, published in Science Advances, says contaminated collagen was the reason for the previous 'younger' dates. This pushed its existence back by almost a thousand years compared to previous estimates done in 2007 which put it at 9,730 years old.
#GIANT SLOTH SIZE PLUS#
He discovered that the giant ground sloth bones dated to around 10,570 years of age, plus or minus 170 years. Instead they took their last breaths in the Pleistocene, said Dr Politis. They also contradict previous studies suggesting the iconic beasts of South America survived well after the Ice Age. 'The new data offer definitive evidence for hunting and butchering of the giant ground sloth.' It is believed humans encroached on the habitat of these animals in order to kill them for meat and for fur.ĭr Politis said: 'The extinction of Pleistocene megafauna and the role played by humans have been subjects of constant debate in American archaeology. at this time and the massive mammals that populated Earth vanished rapidly. Most of the Earth was covered by glaciers. It is among the first direct evidence of human predation on 'megafauna' at the end of a period known geologically as the Pleistocene. 'We infer that these marks are associated with defleshing the animal.' Modern animals - including a few remains of Patagonian hare - were also dug up at the ancient campsite.ĭr Gustavo Politis said: 'Giant ground sloth fossils were, by far, the most abundant and all the anatomical elements of the body were present.'Īnalysis of the enormous 20 foot tall beast found it was killed and butchered near a swamp in Patagonia.ĭr Politis said: 'Evidence of butchering included stone tool modifications on a giant ground sloth rib and a Patagonian hare shinbone. Glyptodons weighed up to one ton and are a far larger ancestor of the modern-day armadillo. Three extinct species of megafauna were identified - a giant ground sloth and two types of glyptodon. Researchers used accelerator mass spectrometry to radiocarbon date and study the amino acids in the 282 bones found at the site.
Renewed efforts from National University of Buenos Aires in Argentina used carbon dating to narrow down when the specimen lived. They found the majority belonged to a 20ft tall sloth that died in the Ice Age and was killed and defleshed by humans There is less evidence for an omnivorous diet and more speculation, at this point.Researchers used accelerator mass spectrometry to radiocarbon date and study the amino acids in the 282 bones found at the site. Some scientists believe that sloths may have supplemented their diet with meat, either taken from already killed animals, the sloths acting as scavengers and scaring away predators with their vicious claws and size when reared up, or killing animals with those same long, sharp claws, after rolling over a giant armadillo, for example, and stabbing its soft underbelly. Megalonyx, a smaller genus in North America, may have eaten willow leaves and twigs, or other trees growing in moist places, rising up to pull down branches and break them off or strip them. Paramylodon harlani, a species widespread in North America, had teeth that suggeted it grazed on grasses.
Fossilized dung from a southwest American species shows it ate mesquite, cacti, agave, yucca, and Joshua trees. Sloths had hip bones that allowed them to stand up to reach higher branches, strong claws to rib off bark and tear down limbs, and small blunt teeth to grind up fibrous plant tissue. Answer: tree leaves, some other grasses and local plants, possibly a little meat
0 kommentar(er)
