Mastodon and Man

So far, there seems to be no universally accepted proof that man actually hunted mastodons and mammoths in the Americas, even though cave drawings do prove that man and these elephant-like mammals coexisted. But now from Venezuela comes conclusive evidence of a mastodon kill.

Anthropologists from Venezuela and Canada recently unearthed a young mastodon that had been butchered by man at least 13,000 years ago. The remaining bones showed marks where tendons had been cut away with stone tools. A weapon point and another flaked tool were found with the bones, the point being within a natural cavity in the animal's pelvic bone. Fragments of chewed twigs thought to have been in the slain mastodon's stomach enabled carbon dating of the find.

Near the ancient watering hole beside which the young mastodon lay were found the remains of horse, bear, sloth, and other mastodons. Two bones of adult mastodon clearly had been used as chopping blocks.

At Ester, Alaska, near Fairbanks more than 100 teeth of young mammoths were found in 1937 lying in a small area. Very likely this was a man-caused concentration, but it does not constitute proof that man, mastodons and mammoths coexisted in Alaska.