A new study reviewed all the documented evidence of humans hunting or butchering megafauna in Mexico during the late Pleistocene. The authors of this study believe there is not enough research yet on this subject. Species from 14 different families of mammals became extinct during the late Pleistocene in Mexico including ground sloths, glyptodonts, elephant relatives, toxodons, horses; and some species of bears, wolves, and big cats. There is evidence of humans hunting or butchering some of these species, but the authors of this study make the wishy-washy conclusion that there is not enough evidence to determine whether human hunting caused their extinctions.
The authors of this study found 30 Mexican sites in the literature with evidence of humans exploiting megafauna. 15 sites were in the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt, 5 sites were in the Sierra Madre Oriental, 4 sites were in the Yucatan, 2 sites were in the northern Gulf Coastal Plain, and 2 sites were in the Sierra Madre Del Sur. 4 regions of Mexico have no evidence of human-megafauna interaction. Species of megafauna exploited by humans at these sites include 15 mammoths, 3 gompotheres, 3 camels or llamas, 2 horses, 1 bison, 1 ground sloth, 1 glyptodont, 1 pronghorn, 1 black bear, 1 big horned sheep, 1 tapir, 1 peccary, 1 saber-tooth, and 1 undetermined species of large canid. The evidence at some sites is obvious. At the Tocuila site there was evidence of 7 butchered mammoths. At other sites such as the 1 with the peccary, saber-tooth, and canid the bones are merely found in association with archaeological evidence.
Regions of Mexico. Map from the below study. The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt had the most evidence of human-megafauna interaction. It may have hosted the most favorable habitat for large mammals.
Artist’s depiction of paleoindians hunting mastodon. I don’t know who drew this. I doubt it took this many men to bring down a large mammal. 1 accurately thrown spear could kill it.
The authors of the study report that not many of these sites had good isotopic data or radiocarbon dates on the bones. Instead, the sites were dated using a combination of biochronology and radiocarbon dates of the organic matter where the bones were found. The authors mention the ridiculous conclusion from a study I wrote about a few months ago (See: https://markgelbart.wordpress.com/2024/11/20/flawed-study-suggests-anthropogenic-fires-caused-the-extirpations-of-megafauna-near-the-la-brea-tar-pits/ ) that determined megafauna near the La Brea Tar Pits became extinct because the environment became more arid. I suggested this was an absurd assumption because horses, camels, and lions are all well-adapted to living in arid environments.
Reference:
Solis-Torres, O.; J. Arroyo-Cabrales, P. Roberts, and N. Amano
“A Critical Review of Late Pleistocene Human and Megafaunal Interactions in Mexico”
Quaternary Science Reviews April 2025
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379125000204
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