This was confirmed by an international study led by Ben Potter of the University of Alaska and James Chatters of McMaster University.
Researchers analyzed 50 archaeological sites in North and South America and found that animals weighing over one ton provided between 83% and 88% of the total meat-derived calories in the diet of early humans. In contrast, birds, fish, and rabbits contributed less than 1%.
Isotope analysis of a baby's bones found in Montana revealed that its mother's diet consisted of 96% mammoth meat, indicating the significant role that giant animals played in the lives of early humans.
Researchers at the archaeological sites found heavy spears and tools for scraping and preparing animal carcasses, but no hunting hooks or grinding stones. Some of the stones used in the tools were brought from areas as far as 1,500 kilometers away, suggesting that these societies specialized in hunting specific types of prey.
Scientists believe that this dietary specialization may explain the rapid spread of humans across the American continents, as they did not have to adapt to every new environment over thousands of years, but rather followed the herds of giant animals as they moved.
Why did ancient humans settle the American continents so quickly?
The study suggests that humans' reliance on mammoth and giant sloth herds may have facilitated their rapid expansion, with estimates indicating that settlement of the two continents occurred within a period of only 300 to 600 years. Had their diet been based on more diverse sources, they might have required longer periods to adapt to the new environments.
The findings also revive the debate about the role of humans in the extinction of megafauna. The woolly mammoth disappeared about 13,400 years ago, the Columbian mammoth about 12,800 years ago, and several other South American giants about 11,600 years ago.
Researchers found evidence of human hunting of 28 out of 41 extinct giant animal species. While climate change played a role during this period, scientists emphasize that the impact of human activity cannot be ruled out as a contributing factor to theextinction event.
