Horse exploitation by Beringian hunters during the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract

Genetic data suggest that the Native American founder population diverged from its Asian parent population about 25,000 years ago and was geographically isolated during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ca. 21,000 years BP) before dispersing into North and South America as the ice sheets retreated. Archaeological evidence in eastern Siberia and Beringia is scarce, however. Although stone tools and cutmarks on bones dated to the LGM are reported at Bluefish Caves (Yukon Territory, Canada), the stratigraphic integrity of the site and the interpretation of the bone modifications have long been questioned by the scientific community. Here, we describe the results of a zooarchaeological study of the faunal assemblages from Pleistocene loess deposits of Bluefish Caves 1 and 2. Taphonomic analyses indicate that humans hunted a variety of prey at the site, including the Beringian horse (E. lambei), as early as 23,500 years BP. We discuss the significance of the site in debates about the timing of the initial peopling of North America and the role of human-hunters in megafaunal extinctions.