Ancient humans regularly hunted now-extinct elephants at lake in Chile, study says

BY BRENDAN RASCIUS MAY 23, 2024 5:28 PM

Ancient humans hunted a now-extinct species of elephant 12,000 years ago in Chile, according to a new study. Photo from PLOS One

Thousands of years ago, early humans were hunting massive animals in modern-day Chile, archaeologists recently discovered. The finding was made during an archaeological excavation of Tagua Tagua Lake, a dried up lake bed that lies in the mountains of central Chile, according to a study published May 22 in the journal PLOS One.

The site contained fossilized remains of gomphotheres, a type of elephant that lived throughout much of the world up until the early Holocene period. UNCOVER MORE ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS What are we learning about the past? Here are three of our most eye-catching archaeology stories from the past week.

Evidence of wear on the bones, as well as the presence of stone tools, indicates hunter-gatherers butchered and ate the large mammals near the lake.

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