Ground sloth fossils reveal unknown historical secrets

Crude tool marks on ground sloth bones hold shocking evidence: our ancestors may have been hunting since before the Ice Age.

Archaeologists have found fossils of a giant ground sloth (Lestodon armatus) at the Arroyo del Vizcaíno site, near Sauce, Uruguay. They say the discovery could push back the earliest evidence of human presence in South America by thousands of years. Photo: RA Fariña et al., Swiss Journal of Palaeontology.

The fossil of the extinct giant ground sloth is a heel bone dating back about 33,000 years. On this bone there is a distinct circular depression, about 21 mm in diameter and nearly 41 mm deep. Photo: RA Fariña et al., Swiss Journal of Palaeontology (2025).

This wound bears the hallmarks of a prehistoric human weapon. Photo: Chensiyuan / CC BY-SA 4.0.

According to experts, the Arroyo del Vizcaíno area is where more than 2,000 skeletons from at least 15 large animals were discovered, most of them belonging to Lestodon armatus - a giant ground sloth that could grow up to 4m long. Photo: ResearchGate.

The Arroyo del Vizcaíno area is home to an extremely dense concentration of prehistoric animals. Radiocarbon dating has shown that the remains found there are around 33,000 years old. Photo: Ancient-origins.

Dr. Richard Fariña, a paleontologist at the University of the Republic of Uruguay and lead author of the study, said that examination of the heel bone revealed organic fibers embedded in the indentation, suggesting the presence of plant material. The team speculated that the weapon that injured the giant ground sloth may have been a spear made of wood. Photo: reddit.

Before this discovery, experts believed the earliest human presence was around 23,000 years ago based on footprints found in White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Photo: mullerornis.medium.com.

However, new evidence found in Uruguay pushes this back by nearly 10,000 years, suggesting humans were hunting large animals in South America long before the Last Ice Age (around 26,500 to 19,000 years ago). Photo: AuntSpray | Shutterstock.

The condition of the giant ground sloth’s wounds suggests it was hunted at close range, consistent with the use of spears or similar weapons by prehistoric humans to hunt large animals. Photo: Tim Sharp.

Researchers suggest that the weapon used by prehistoric humans may have had a rounded head made of hardwood, bone or ivory and attached to a wooden handle. Photo: deviantart.

Readers are invited to watch the video : Discovering many new species in the Mekong River Region. Source: THĐT1.

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/hoa-thach-luoi-dat-tiet-lo-bi-mat-lich-su-chua-tung-biet-post1554937.html