Researchers have unveiled groundbreaking discoveries regarding the timeline of megafauna in South America, revealing that these giant creatures lived longer than previously believed. A team from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro carbon-dated eight fragments of megafauna teeth, uncovering evidence that these species roamed the region around 3,500 years ago. This discovery challenges the dominant view that megafauna went extinct at the start of the Holocene era.
The surprise findings emerged from two paleontological sites in Brazil, where researchers initially followed conventional wisdom. Among the notable fossils were teeth from Palaeolama major, an ancient relative of llamas, and Xenorhinotherium bahiense, both of which were particularly unexpected in their age. These results indicate that these animals coexisted with humans for thousands of years longer than previously thought, as humans arrived in South America between 20,000 and 17,000 years ago.
"Following that dominant view, we were so sure our megafauna was from the beginning of the Holocene, we didn’t even date our fossils," said Fábio Faria, the study's lead author.
The study underscores the complexity of extinction events, supporting previous research that highlighted similar timelines for other megafauna species on the American continent and beyond. Historically, scientists believed that ancient large animals like ground sloths became extinct around 11,000 years ago. However, recent discoveries, including a 4,000-year-old woolly mammoth found last year, challenge this narrative.
Fábio Faria's team sought to gain a deeper understanding of the distribution of ancient megafauna through precise dating techniques.
"With the dating, we wanted to better understand the distribution of ancient megafauna in South America. What we found — 3,500-year-old species — was totally unexpected," Faria explained.
The Brazilian Intertropical Region, where these fossils were discovered, underwent significant environmental changes during this period. It may have served as a refuge for species such as P. major and X. bahiense.
"The environment in the Brazilian Intertropical Region was undergoing changes by that time," noted Dimila Mothé, a paleoecologist involved in the study.
This discovery opens new avenues for reinterpreting South American history and provides further evidence against homogeneous extinction timelines.
"is astonishing and opens the door to rewrite South American history," Mothé emphasized.
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