A new study has shed light on the diet of the ancient Clovis people, who inhabited North America during the most recent ice age. The researchers analyzed the remains of an 18-month-old child buried about 13,000 years ago and found that his mother mostly ate mammoths, elk, bison, and camel, with a negligible consumption of small mammals and plants.
The study used stable isotope analysis to identify the specific foods consumed by the infant’s mother. By comparing her isotopic signatures to other food items, scientists concluded that her diet was most similar to a scimitar cat that primarily hunted mammoths. This discovery confirms previous theories that the Clovis people were skilled hunters and provide direct evidence of their diet.
The findings also suggest that humans may have contributed to the extinction of mammoths by hunting them. The researchers found that the largest mammoth sites in North America contained mainly younger animals, which were likely easier to kill. This could have been a contributing factor to the extinction of these massive creatures during a period of critical climate change.
The study’s co-lead author, James Chatters, noted that this discovery has made the Clovis people “more real” and allowed us to imagine their daily lives. The researchers’ findings are significant because they provide direct evidence of the Clovis people’s diet, which was previously based on secondary evidence such as animal remains and archaeological sites.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/06/science/north-america-mammoths-diet-intl-scli/index.html