No abstract

The peopling of the Americas and human interaction with the Pleistocene megafauna in South America remain hotly debated. The Santa Elina rock shelter in Central Brazil shows evidence of successive human settlements from around the last glacial maximum (LGM) to the Early Holocene. Two Pleistocene archaeological layers include rich lithic industry associated with remains of the extinct giant ground sloth Glossotherium phoenesis . The remains include thousands of osteoderms (i.e. dermal bones), three of which were human-modified. In this study, we perform a traceological analysis of these artefacts by optical microscopy, non-destructive scanning electron microscopy, UV/visible photoluminescence and synchrotron-based microtomography. We also describe the spatial association between the giant sloth bone remains and stone tools and provide a Bayesian age model that confirms the timing of this association in two time horizons of the Pleistocene in Santa Elina. The conclusion from our traceological study is that the three giant sloth osteoderms were intentionally modified into artefacts before fossilization of the bones. This provides additional evidence for the contemporaneity of humans and megafauna, and for the human manufacturing of personal artefacts on bone remains of ground sloths, around the LGM in Central Brazil.

RESUMOO estado do Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil, tem revelado um importante potencial paleontológico dos depósitos quaternários, em especial devido à riqueza de fósseis encontrados nas grutas e rios da região da Serra da Bodoquena. Este trabalho apresenta novos dados taxonômicos de espécimes coletados do rio Miranda (Miranda, MS), uma nova localidade fossilífera da megafauna pleistocênica da região. Dentre os materiais identificados, estão restos fósseis de Megatheriidae, Mylodontidae, Glyptodontinae, Pampatheriidae e Toxodontidae. Ressalta-se a ocorrência, até agora inédita, do pampaterídeo Holmesina, que preenche uma lacuna paleobiogeográfica na América do Sul.Palavras-chave: Megafauna; Serra da Bodoquena; Pleistoceno; Mato Grosso do Sul.ABSTRACT NEW OCCURRENCE OF PLEISTOCENE MEGAFAUNA IN MATO GROSSO DO SUL. The state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, has revealed an important paleontological potential of Quaternary deposits, especially because of the fossil richness in caves and rivers of the Serra da Bodoquena region. This study presents new taxonomic data of specimens collected from a new fossiliferous locality of the Pleistocene megafauna in this region, the Miranda River (Miranda, MS). Among the material that has been identified are fossil remains of Megatheriidae, Mylodontidae, Glyptodontinae, Pampatheriidae and Toxodontidae. It is important to mention the novel occurrence of the Pampatheriidae Holmesina, which fills a paleobiogeographic gap in South America.