Footprints preserve terminal Pleistocene hunt? Human-sloth interactions in North America
Bustos D, Jakeway J, Urban TM, Holliday VT, Fenerty B, Raichlen DA, Budka M, Reynolds SC, Allen BD, Love DW, Santucci VL, Odess D, Willey P, McDonald HG, Bennett MR. 2018. Footprints preserve terminal Pleistocene hunt? Human-sloth interactions in North America. Science Advances. :1-6
Predator-prey interactions revealed by vertebrate trace fossils are extremely rare. We present footprint evi- dence from White Sands National Monument in New Mexico for the association of sloth and human trackways. Geologically, the sloth and human trackways were made contemporaneously, and the sloth trackways show evidence of evasion and defensive behavior when associated with human tracks. Behavioral inferences from these trackways indicate prey selection and suggest that humans were harassing, stalking, and/or hunting the now-extinct giant ground sloth in the terminal Pleistocene.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Bustos, David; Jakeway, Jackson; Urban, Tommy; Holliday, Vance; Fenerty, Brendan; Raichlen, David; Budka, Marcin; Reynolds, Sally; Allen, Bruce; Love, David; Santucci, Vincent; Odess, Daniel; Willey, Patrick; McDonald, H; Bennett, Matthew
- Units
- CHDN , WHSA
- Keywords
- Anthropology, Paleontology, White Sands National Monument
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Windblown Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Paleontology | Paleontology