Ancient Humans, Dogs Hunted Mastodon in Florida: Early Dogs Helped Humans Hunt Mammoths

Discovery News ^ | May 13, 2016 | Jennifer Viegas

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The geology of the site, as well as pollen and algae finds, suggest that the hunter-gatherers encountered the mastodon next to a small pond that both humans and animals used as a water source, the researchers believe.

Waters said that the prehistoric "people knew how to find game, fresh water and materials for making tools. These people were well adapted to this environment. The site is a slam-dunk pre-Clovis site with unequivocal artifacts, clear stratigraphy and thorough dating."

Another research team previously excavated the site and found what they believed were dog remains, so dogs "would most likely have been associated with the early hunters," Waters said, indicating that the remains would be studied further. If confirmed, they could be the earliest known evidence for dogs in the Americas.

In terms of other animals, he said, "The animal bones from the site tell us that mastodon, sloth, giant armadillo, dire wolf, mammoth, horse, camel and giant bison were present. These and other animals became extinct by 12,600 years ago."

So humans co-existed with all of these animals for at least 2,000 years before they died out, Halligan said.

Waters added, "The primary driver of extinction was likely climate and environmental changes that occurred at the end of the last ice age. However, if people were hunting these animals for 2,000 years prior to extinction, they must have made some impact."

Halligan suggested that the impact might have varied, depending on the location...

David Anderson, professor and associate head of the University of Tennessee’s Department of Anthropology, told Discovery News, "The new artifacts, dates and other lines of evidence provide a compelling case for early human use of the site and, by extension, the region."

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