Humans reached Argentina more than 20,000 years ago and feasted on giant armadillos, a study published Wednesday suggests.
Fossilized bones belonging to the now-extinct relative of the armadillo, a glyptodont known as Neosclerocalyptus, revealed human-made markings indicating some of the earliest interactions with megafauna found in the region, according to a study published in the journal PLOS One. The incomplete skeleton was found along the banks of the Reconquista River just outside Buenos Aires and was dated to between 21,090 and 20,811 years ago.
Some 32 cut marks were found along the bones, which included the pelvis and tail, as well as the bone plates atop the animal’s body, known as carapace. V-shaped cross sections seen in 3D scans of the markings are highly suggestive of stone tool use. Scientists concluded that the patterns in the markings could not have been random and were most likely related to butchering practices. But this isn’t even the coolest part of the study.
A bone from an ancient giant armadillo relative in Argentina, more than 21,000 years old, has cutmarks from ancient hunters who may have been among the earliest people in South America.https://t.co/f4MbtpaIe0 pic.twitter.com/2wMXaVceB5
— John Hawks (@johnhawks) July 17, 2024
The findings push back the human timeline in South America — again — by another 6,000 years, the authors note.
A majority of archaeologists are still thought to believe that modern humans only made it to the Americas around 13,000 years ago — in what’s known as the Clovis culture. Apparently the reigning Big Archaeology idea is humans wandered over the land bridge between Alaska and Siberia around that time. And that’s all there is to it (not). (RELATED: Archeologists’ Findings Prove We Need To Rewrite Human History)
Repeated examples of extensive human activity predate the Clovis culture. Footprints in White Sands National Park date to around 21,000 to 23,000 years ago. Researchers also believe humans were capable of traversing the world’s oceans well before using the land bridge.
It’s like Graham Hancock always says: stuff just keeps getting older.
