https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0304956

Anthropic cut marks in extinct megafauna bones from the Pampean region
(Argentina) at the last glacial maximum

Mariano Del Papa,
Martin De Los Reyes,
Daniel G. Poiré,
Nicolás Rascovan,
Guillermo Jofré,
Miguel Delgado

Abstract

The initial peopling of South America is a topic of intense
archaeological debate. Among the most contentious issues remain the
nature of the human-megafauna interaction and the possible role of
humans, along with climatic change, in the extinction of several
megamammal genera at the end of the Pleistocene. In this study, we
present the analysis of fossil remains with cutmarks belonging to a
specimen of Neosclerocalyptus (Xenarthra, Glyptodontidae), found on the
banks of the Reconquista River, northeast of the Pampean region
(Argentina), whose AMS 14C dating corresponds to the Last Glacial
Maximum (21,090–20,811 cal YBP). Paleoenvironmental reconstructions,
stratigraphic descriptions, absolute chronological dating of bone
materials, and deposits suggest a relatively rapid burial event of the
bone assemblage in a semi-dry climate during a wet season. Quantitative
and qualitative analyses of the cut marks, reconstruction of butchering
sequences, and assessments of the possible agents involved in the
observed bone surface modifications indicate anthropic activities. Our
results provide new elements for discussing the earliest peopling of
southern South America and specifically for the interaction between
humans and local megafauna in the Pampean region during the Last Glacial
Maximum.