Scientists have found the first direct evidence that ancient Americans relied heavily on mammoths and other large animals for food.
This discovery sheds light on how early humans spread across the Americas and the role they played in the extinction of Ice Age megafauna.
The study, published in Science Advances, used isotope analysis to examine the diet of a Clovis woman, the mother of an infant buried at a 13,000-year-old site in Montana.
Unlike previous research, which relied on indirect evidence like stone tools or animal remains, this study directly modeled her diet using chemical fingerprints from her bones.
Clovis people: Expert hunters
The Clovis people, who lived in North America around 13,000 years ago, were highly mobile and skilled hunters.
Mammoths were a key food source because they provided a rich supply of fat and protein and migrated across vast distances, making them a reliable resource.
“This focus on mammoths helps explain how the Clovis people could move so quickly across North and South America in just a few hundred years,” said James Chatters, co-lead author of the study and a researcher at McMaster University.
The researchers also noted that Clovis sites often contain the remains of large animals like mammoths and bison, and their tools, such as large spear points, were designed for hunting these massive creatures from a distance.
What isotope analysis revealed
The researchers used data from earlier studies on Anzick-1, an 18-month-old Clovis child, to estimate his mother’s diet.
By adjusting for the effects of nursing, they determined that about 40% of her diet came from mammoths.
Other large animals like elk and bison made up the rest, with small mammals and plants contributing very little.
“Isotopes act like a chemical fingerprint of what someone ate,” explained Mat Wooller, a co-author of the study. The team compared her diet to those of predators from the same time, like American lions and wolves. Interestingly, her diet was closest to that of the scimitar cat, another mammoth specialist.
The findings suggest that early humans, combined with environmental changes, may have contributed to the extinction of mammoths and other Ice Age animals. As climate change reduced their habitats, these animals became more vulnerable to skilled hunters like the Clovis people.
“These were highly effective hunters with techniques honed over thousands of years in Eurasia,” said Chatters. When they arrived in the Americas, they encountered “naïve” megafauna that had no prior experience with human predators.
The research team collaborated with Indigenous communities in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho to ensure their work was respectful and inclusive. Shane Doyle, a member of the Crow Nation and director of Yellowstone Peoples, praised the researchers for their approach.
“This study reshapes how we understand the lifeways of Clovis-era Native people,” said Doyle. “It shows how they thrived by hunting one of the most dangerous and dominant animals of their time, the mammoth.”
This groundbreaking study not only reveals insights into the diets of ancient Americans but also highlights the importance of ethical research and collaboration with Indigenous communities.
