Scientists have uncovered new insights into the Clovis culture, the first known human inhabitants of North America, revealing their heavy reliance on mammoths and other large animals for survival during the last Ice Age.
The study, published in Science Advances, analyzed the chemical composition of the remains of an 18-month-old child, referred to as Anzick Boy, discovered in southern Montana. By examining the isotopic makeup, researchers determined the diet of the boy’s mother, providing a glimpse into the Clovis people’s dietary habits.
Archeologist James Chatters explained, “Megafauna, especially Columbian mammoths, offered substantial meat and fat-rich resources. A single kill could sustain an entire community for days or even weeks while hunters prepared for their next hunt.”
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The findings revealed that megafauna constituted 96% of the mother’s diet, with mammoths making up 40%. The remaining portion was attributed to other large animals like elk, bison, camels, and horses, with minimal contributions from smaller creatures and plants.
Renowned for their large, expertly crafted stone tools, the Clovis people specialized in hunting the largest animals available. “Clovis hunters were incredibly skilled, having honed their abilities over more than 10,000 years,” Chatters noted.
The research also strengthens the theory that human hunting contributed to the extinction of megafauna at the end of the Ice Age. Archeologist Ben Potter from the University of Alaska Fairbanks remarked, “These findings suggest humans played a more significant role in megafaunal extinctions than previously believed.”
Interestingly, isotopic comparisons linked the Clovis diet to that of Homotherium, an extinct scimitar-toothed predator also known to hunt mammoths.
The study highlights how the Clovis culture’s dependence on megafauna facilitated their rapid expansion across North and South America, as they followed the migrations of their prey over vast distances.
