The first humans arrived at the Southern Cone - a cone-shaped part of South America - 14,000 years ago. This is evidenced by archaeological excavations and radiocarbon analysis of the found human remains.
From the research results it was known that people lived west of the Andes about 14.5 thousand years ago. Later work confirms this theory and shows that Homo sapiens arrived in North and South America earlier than the Clovis hunters, who appeared in those places 13 thousand years ago. The culture got its name from the few artifacts found in 1936 and 1937 near Clovis, New Mexico. Locals reported the finds back in the 20s of the last century. Later, aboriginal sites were found in many places in the United States and Mexico.
In the second half of the 20th century, archaeologists believed the Clovis people were the progenitors of all American Aborigines. It was believed that they crossed the land bridge that existed on the site of the present Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska when sea levels dropped during the ice age, and then continued on their way south.
So, on the second side of Dry Creek, researchers unearthed ancient tools and bones of various extinct animals with traces of tool processing that have also been found. It turned out that the bones of some mammalian species were concentrated in several places - possibly there were slaughterhouses.
Microscopic examination showed that some of the bones were most likely broken by stone tools. Finally, radiocarbon dating showed that the remains date from 14,064 to 13,068 years ago. Compared with data from other places, it is possible that people arrived in the Southern Cone before the Clovis culture, but after the beginning of the Ice Age, which was 19-20 thousand years ago.
What interesting can you tell about ancient people? In those days, they hunted or gatherers on long-extinct horses (Equus neogeus) and giant ground sloths (Megatherium americanum).
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Butchering of cattle began with the processing of the hind limbs, then the carcass was transported to the upper part of the mound. This area was a short-term butchering camp. There they found dismembered and large bones, broken by large stone tools. There were also small artifacts suitable for cutting and processing hides.
Scientists are sure that in North America people exterminated mammoths, bison and mastodons - a mixture of an elephant and a wild boar. It is possible that two types of ancient horses were also exterminated, that is, they were not only ridden, but also eaten. Likewise, giant sloths and western camels became extinct.
Experts argue that the arrival of humans in the Southern Cone 14,000 years ago may represent the last step in the spread of Homo sapiens and continental colonization.