Giant sloths once roamed across much of the Americas. Contrary to popular depictions as slow animals clinging to tree branches, these prehistoric relatives weighed over 8,000 pounds and sometimes reacted aggressively if threatened.
Ancient mastodons grazed across plains and wetlands, forming a landscape filled with towering mammals that would turn heads in any museum exhibit. The traditional timeline of human arrival in the Americas is under revision, suggesting people may have coexisted with these animals for thousands of years.
Researchers at White Sands National Park in New Mexico found evidence dating human presence to over 20,000 years ago. These footprints appear alongside tracks of mammoths and giant ground sloths, hinting that humans adapted to a dramatic environment rather than simply arriving and wiping out large species.
Fossil remains from Santa Elina in central Brazil show signs of human handiwork, including intentionally altered bones featuring small holes and polished edges. Laboratory analysis suggests these sloth bones were shaped and drilled around 25,000 years ago, pointing to an older human presence in South America.
Other sites, such as Monte Verde in Chile and Urugu’s Arroyo del Vizcaíno, have yielded dates ranging from 14,500 to 30,000 years. While some experts question the accuracy of these findings, researchers remain open to critiques and emphasize that multiple confirmations are needed for a hypothesis to gain acceptance.
The latest discoveries propose a longer period of coexistence between humans and giant mammals, with factors like climate shifts playing a role in extinctions. As research grows, a new picture emerges of daily life with massive creatures ambling across landscapes quite different from modern farms and highways.
Source: https://www.earth.com/news/early-humans-in-america-coexisted-with-giant-sloths-and-mastodons