13,000-year-old butchered bones of long-tusked beast found in Chile give more evidence of early first Americans
Archaeological excavations in the Lake Tagua Tagua basin in central Chile have revealed stone tools and animal bones with cut marks dated to 13,000 years ago. Bones from gomphotheres, an extinct group of tusked mammals related to modern elephants, displayed clear lower marks, suggesting that Indigenous peoples butchered the animals on the site. Researchers found a big focus of megafauna remains and stone instruments alongside the shore of the ancient lake. This discovery provides fresh insights into how some of the first people to dwell in the region hunted and consumed these large animals.
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- ✓ Excavations at Lake Tagua Tagua in central Chile found gomphothere bones with cut marks and stone tools dated to about 12,000 to 13,000 years ago.
- ✓ A September 24 statement from the Catalan Institute for Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution announced the discovery.
- ✓ Gomphotheres are an extinct group of tusked mammals related to modern elephants.
What changed
Archaeologists uncovered a concentration of gomphothere bones bearing human cut marks alongside stone instruments at Lake Tagua Tagua.
Live updates
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13,000-Year-Old Butchered Bones Discovered in Chile
Archaeological excavations in the Lake Tagua Tagua basin in central Chile have revealed stone tools and animal bones with cut marks dated to 13,000 years ago. Bones from gomphotheres, an extinct group of tusked mammals related to modern elephants, displayed clear lower marks, suggesting that Indigenous peoples butchered the animals on the site. Researchers found a big focus of megafauna remains and stone instruments alongside the shore of the ancient lake. This discovery provides fresh insights into how some of the first people to dwell in the region hunted and consumed these large animals.
Why it matters
The find sheds light on the survival processes and diets of ancient peoples during the late Pleistocene epoch. Excavations carried out over the previous two years by the Catalan Institute for Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution brought these remains to light. The presence of human-made lower marks on extinct elephant-like creatures adds physical proof to the timeline of human migration and subsistence in South America.
What is confirmed
- Excavations at Lake Tagua Tagua in central Chile found gomphothere bones with cut marks and stone tools dated to about 12,000 to 13,000 years ago.
- A September 24 statement from the Catalan Institute for Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution announced the discovery.
- Gomphotheres are an extinct group of tusked mammals related to modern elephants.
What to watch next
- Further analysis of the megafauna remains and stone tools recovered from the Lake Tagua Tagua basin.
- Additional publications from the Catalan Institute for Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution regarding the excavation site.
confidence 100%Sources used for this update (20)
- Live Science — 13,000-year-old butchered bones of long-tusked beast found in Chile give more evidence of early first Americans
- Archaeology Magazine — News - Butchered Bones in Chile Dated to 13,000 Years Ago
- Yahoo — 13,000-year-old butchered bones of found in Chile give more evidence of early first Americans
- archaeologymag.com — Rare evidence of gomphothere processing uncovered at 13,000-year-old site in Chile
- ua.news — Traces of human processing of gomphotheres found in Chile 13,000 years ago — Live Science
- livequrious.com — Butchered Gomphothere Bones in Chile Show Early Americans
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