Human (Clovis)–gomphothere (Cuvieroniussp.) association ∼13,390 calibrated yBP in Sonora, Mexico

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1404546111
• Publication Date: 2014-07-15T05:15:59Z
• Authors: Guadalupe Sanchez; Vance T. Holliday; Edmund P. Gaines; Joaquín Arroyo-Ca...; Natalia Martínez-...; Andrew Kowler; Todd Lange; Gregory W. L. Hod...; Susan M. Mentzer; Ismael Sanchez-Mo...
• Keywords: Mammoths; Fossils; Animals; Humans; 0601 history and archaeology; 06 humanities and the arts; 15. Life on land; Extinction, Biological; Mexico

SignificanceArchaeological evidence from Sonora, Mexico, indicates that the earliest widespread and recognizable group of hunter-gatherers (“Clovis”) were in place ∼13,390 y ago in southwestern North America. This is the earliest well-documented population on the continent and suggests that the unique Clovis artifact style originated in the southwest or south central part of the continent, well south of the Arctic gateways into the continent. These hunters targeted gomphotheres, an elephant common in south and central North America, but unknown in association with humans or at this late age in North America.