A critical review of Late Pleistocene human-megafaunal interactions in Mexico

Abstract

The timing and cause(s) of megafaunal (animals with body mass >44 kg) extinctions during the Late Pleistocene remain a topic of significant multidisciplinary interest. Determining the ecological and evolutionary history of megafaunal communities requires a detailed study of chronology, climate change, environment, and human impact. While some regions of North America are well-studied in this regard, others, such as Mexico, have been more neglected. This is despite the fact that, by the end of the Pleistocene, the region had witnessed the extinction of fourteen families (Chlamyphoridae, Megalonychidae, Mylodontidae, Felidae, Canidae, Ursidae, Tapiridae, Antilocapridae, Bovidae, Cervidae, Gomphotheriidae, Mammutidae, Toxodontidae, Macrauchenidae) and the regional extirpation of a further four (Equidae, Camelidae, Elephantidae and Megatheriidae). Moreover, this region is located at a biotic crossroads and has yielded some of the earliest dates for human occupation across the Americas. This makes Mexico an important study region to explore the effects of human presence and climate change on a variety of megafaunal species. However, research has been hindered by an uneven balance of research, preservation issues, lack of chronological control, and limited synthesis of the available data. In this paper, we provide a critical review of the available records of Late Pleistocene megafauna in Mexico and their relationship to human populations. We evaluate the quality of dates and stratigraphic contexts of recorded megafauna on a site-by-site basis while also exploring available information on human presence and impact on megafauna. We highlight that currently, the human impact on the decline of these populations is far from clear and that more multidisciplinary excavations of well-dated sites are needed. Nevertheless, we contend that current evidence suggests that human hunting of megafauna occurred across most of the Mexican territory in a variety of habitats, with some evidence in the south that these hunts were complemented by significant acquisition of small game, aquatic species and plant foods.