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Late Pleistocene Western Camel (Camelops Hesternus) Hunting in Southwestern Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Brian Kooyman ,
L.V. Hills ,
Shayne Tolman  and
Paul McNeil
Brian Kooyman
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, CANADA (bkooyman@ucalgary.ca)
L.V. Hills
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences and Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, CANADA.
Shayne Tolman
Affiliation:
P.O. Box 1146, Cardston, Alberta TOK OKO, CANADA.
Paul McNeil
Affiliation:
Steppe Consulting, 264 Edgebrook Park N.W., Calgary, Alberta T3A 5T7, CANADA.
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Abstract

Late Pleistocene large mammal extinctions in North America have been attributed to a number of factors or combination of factors, primarily climate change and human hunting, but the relative roles of these factors remain much debated. Clo-vis-period hunters exploited species such as mammoth, but many now extinct species such as camels were seemingly not hunted. Archaeological evidence from the Wally’s Beach site in southern Canada, including stone tools and butchered bone, provide the first evidence that Clovis people hunted North American camels. Archaeologists generally dismiss human hunting as a significant contributor to Pleistocene extinctions in North America, but Wally’s Beach demonstrates that human hunting was more inclusive than assumed and we must continue to consider hunting as a factor in Pleistocene extinctions.

Las extinciones de grandes mamíferos del Pleistoceno Tarde en América del Norte se han atribuido a una serie de factores o la combinación de factores, principalmente el cambio climático y la caza hecha por los seres humanos, pero la importancia relativa de estos factores siguen siendo muy debatido. Cazadores del período Clovis explotaron especies como mamut, pero muchas especies ahora extintas como los camellos no fueron aparentemente cazados. La evidencia arqueológica en el sitio de Wally’s Beach en el sur de Canadá, incluidas las herramientas de piedra y huesos modificados por seres humanos, proporcionan la primera evidencia de que la gente de Clovis cazaba camellos en América del Norte. Arqueólogos generalmente desestiman la caza como un contribuyente significativo a la extinción del Pleistoceno en América del Norte, pero Wally’s Beach demuestra que la caza por seres humanos estaba más extendida de lo previsto, y debemos seguir examinando la caza como un factor en la extinción del Pleistoceno.

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Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 77 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 115 - 124
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2012

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