The Elusive Evidence: The Archeological Record of the South American Extinct Megafauna

Abstract

Here I consider the evidence for the interactions of humans and South American late Pleistocene megafauna, a subject not usually covered in much detail in general compilations dealing with Pleistocene extinctions (cf. Martin and Wright, 1967; Klein and Martin, 1984; Barnosky et al., 2004; Steadman et al., 2005; Koch and Barnosky, 2006). The apparent lack of interest is surprising, considering that South America, according to Martin and Steadman (1999:38), lost “over 50 genera of large mammals, more than any other continent”, or at least 40 genera according to Cione and coauthors (2003:10). The Pampas alone were populated by 38 extinct herbivore genera in excess of 100 kg, 20 of which were megaherbivores, a fauna that has no living analog on the planet (Fariña, 1996; Prevosti and Vizcaíno, 2006). This situation alone must make us acknowledge South America to be an exceptional case, worthy of an intensive and detailed study.