Mammoths fed and clothed early Americans, resulting in their extinction

Scientists have made a fascinating discovery that rewrites our understanding of early American survival. For the first time, direct evidence shows that ancient Americans, specifically the Clovis people, relied heavily on mammoths and other large animals for food.

This new information about the diet of these early people not only indicates how they expanded across the Americas but also sheds light on the extinction of large, Ice Age animals.

Who were the Clovis people?

The Clovis people arrived in North America around 13,000 years ago, likely via the Bering Land Bridge.

Known for their unique, fluted projectile points, they weren’t just hunters but also expert toolmakers who used scrapers and blades for diverse survival needs.

Once considered the first inhabitants of the Americas, the Clovis people have now been relegated to a different status as older, pre-Clovis sites have been discovered.

The decline of the Clovis culture, which is also linked to megafaunal extinctions, suggests that environmental changes and overhunting were involved.

However, their influence persisted and impacted later cultures, with their tools and strategies becoming foundational for subsequent Paleo-Indian populations in North America.

Diet of ancient Americans

The study, recently featured in the journal Science Advances, used stable isotope analysis to understand the diet of a Clovis mother from a 13,000-year-old burial site in Montana.

Before this, researchers inferred prehistoric diets by studying tools or animal remains.

Now, for the first time, scientists have been able to analyze the food consumed by the Clovis people directly, thus offering a more complete picture of their lives.

The findings strongly suggest that the Clovis people specialized in hunting large mammals instead of focusing on smaller animals or plants.

These ancient humans lived in North America when mammoths roamed across both northern Asia and the Americas.

Mammoths, being abundant and migratory, provided a stable source of fat and protein for the humans.

Role of mammoths in Clovis expansion

“The focus on mammoths helps explain how Clovis people could spread throughout North America and into South America in just a few hundred years,” explained co-lead author James Chatters from McMaster University.

This reliance on mammoths allowed the ancient Americans to expand rapidly, as they did not need to depend on local, unpredictable food sources.

Clovis technology and mammoths

The study also revealed an interesting link between Clovis technology and their diet.

“What’s striking to me is that this confirms a lot of data from other sites. For example, the animal parts left at Clovis sites are dominated by megafauna, and the projectile points are large, affixed to darts, which were efficient distance weapons,” said Ben Potter, co-lead author and archaeology professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF).

This hunting technology was critical to the Clovis lifestyle, enabling them to target massive, dangerous animals like mammoths from a safe distance.

“Hunting mammoths provided a flexible way of life. It allowed the Clovis people to move into new areas without having to rely on smaller, localized game, which could vary significantly from one region to the next,” Potter noted.

Mammoth diet of ancient Americans

The research team was able to estimate the Clovis diet by analyzing isotopic data from earlier studies of Anzick-1, an 18-month-old Clovis child. Adjustments for nursing helped researchers model the mother’s diet.

“Isotopes provide a chemical fingerprint of a consumer’s diet and can be compared with those from potential diet items to estimate the proportional contribution of different diet items,” explained Mat Wooller, the director of the Alaska Stable Isotope facility at UAF.

The isotopic fingerprint revealed that mammoths made up around 40% of the diet of the Clovis mother, while other large animals, like elk and bison, made up the rest.

Surprisingly, small mammals contributed very little to her diet. When researchers compared her diet with that of other carnivores from the same era, including American lions and wolves, they found it most closely resembled that of the scimitar cat (Homotherium serum), a specialist mammoth predator.

Implications for Ice Age extinctions

These findings also have implications for understanding the extinction of large animals from the Ice Age. Environmental changes reduced habitats for megafauna, which may have increased their vulnerability to human hunters.

“If the climate is changing in a way that reduces the suitable habitat for some of these megafauna, then it makes them potentially more susceptible to human predation. These people were very effective hunters,” noted Potter.

“You had the combination of a highly sophisticated hunting culture – with skills honed over 10,000 years in Eurasia – meeting naïve populations of megafauna under environmental stress,” said Chatters.

This mix of experienced hunters and vulnerable prey may have accelerated the extinction of animals like the mammoth.

Collaboration with Indigenous communities

Another important aspect of this research on ancient Americans’ reliance on mammoths is its emphasis on ethical collaboration with Indigenous communities.

Potter and Chatters actively engaged with Native Americans in Montana and Wyoming to address their concerns and interests.

“It is important and ethical to consult with Indigenous peoples on questions relating to their heritage,” said the researchers.

The team worked closely with Shane Doyle, executive director of Yellowstone Peoples, who consulted tribal representatives throughout Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho.

“The response has been one of appreciative consideration and inclusion,” noted Doyle.

Adaptability and hunting skills of early Americans

“I congratulate the team for their astounding discovery about the lifeways of Clovis-era Native people and thank them for being tribally inclusive and respectful throughout their research,” said Doyle.

“This study reshapes our understanding of how Indigenous people across America thrived by hunting one of the most dangerous and dominant animals of the day, the mammoth.”

This study not only highlights the incredible adaptability and hunting skills of the Clovis people but also stresses the importance of consulting with Indigenous communities in research involving their ancestors.

It enriches our understanding of how early humans shaped the environment and their role in the extinction of some of the most iconic creatures of the Ice Age.

The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

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