PALEOINDIAN LARGE MAMMAL HUNTERS ON THE PLAINS OF NORTH-AMERICA

From approximate to 11,200 to 8,000 years ago, the Great Plains of Nor th America were populated by small Paleoindian hunting groups with wel l developed weaponry and the expertise to successfully hunt large mamm als, especially mammoths and bison. Mammoths became extinct on the Pla ins by 11,000 Sears ago, and, although paleoecological conditions were worsening, their demise may have been hastened by human predation. Af ter this, the main target of the Plains Paleoindian hunters consisted of subspecies of bison, Bison antiquus and Bison occidentalis. As biso n populations gradually diminished, apparently because of worsening ec ological conditions, by approximate to 8,000 years ago, human subsiste nce was forced into a greater dependence on small animal and plant foo ds. Human paleoecology studies of the Paleoindian time period rely hea vily on multidisciplinary efforts. Geomorphologists, botanists, soil s cientists, palynologists, biologists, and other specialists aid archae ologists in data recovery and analysis, although, with few exceptions, their contributions are derived from the fringes rather than the main stream of their disciplines.