Dr. David Gwynn

But yeah, these folks were probably fairly generalized foragers, which is to say that they were eating up and down the body size chain. So small mammals, turtles, large mammals, yeah. They were probably hunters of great strategy and tactics, but also opportunistic. If the resource was there, they're going to take advantage of it.

But yeah, these folks were probably fairly generalized foragers, which is to say that they were eating up and down the body size chain. So small mammals, turtles, large mammals, yeah. They were probably hunters of great strategy and tactics, but also opportunistic. If the resource was there, they're going to take advantage of it.

Well, I mean, I think that just makes a lot of sense. You don't have a ready food supply. You're not necessarily building up a surplus, right? You haven't got corn that you harvested last fall that's still available in your corn bins. So you will take advantage. Now, at the same time, we know from slightly later in history,

Well, I mean, I think that just makes a lot of sense. You don't have a ready food supply. You're not necessarily building up a surplus, right? You haven't got corn that you harvested last fall that's still available in your corn bins. So you will take advantage. Now, at the same time, we know from slightly later in history,

Well, I mean, I think that just makes a lot of sense. You don't have a ready food supply. You're not necessarily building up a surplus, right? You haven't got corn that you harvested last fall that's still available in your corn bins. So you will take advantage. Now, at the same time, we know from slightly later in history,

prehistory where we've got a large bison kills where bison, because they were sort of susceptible as a herd animal to being driven into arroyos or fall into big pits, natural pits, you know, solution cavities and the like. You're not able to control how many animals get killed.

prehistory where we've got a large bison kills where bison, because they were sort of susceptible as a herd animal to being driven into arroyos or fall into big pits, natural pits, you know, solution cavities and the like. You're not able to control how many animals get killed.

prehistory where we've got a large bison kills where bison, because they were sort of susceptible as a herd animal to being driven into arroyos or fall into big pits, natural pits, you know, solution cavities and the like. You're not able to control how many animals get killed.

And so you're not necessarily able, given the numbers of hunters that you have, to be able to fully exploit the amount of meat, right? So some stuff gets left behind, but certainly you're going to take what you can, as much as you can. And because these are highly mobile groups, they're also thinking a bit in terms of how much can you carry?

And so you're not necessarily able, given the numbers of hunters that you have, to be able to fully exploit the amount of meat, right? So some stuff gets left behind, but certainly you're going to take what you can, as much as you can. And because these are highly mobile groups, they're also thinking a bit in terms of how much can you carry?

And so you're not necessarily able, given the numbers of hunters that you have, to be able to fully exploit the amount of meat, right? So some stuff gets left behind, but certainly you're going to take what you can, as much as you can. And because these are highly mobile groups, they're also thinking a bit in terms of how much can you carry?

Yeah, you can kill an elephant, but are you going to be able to make use of all six tons of it? You know, you move the whole camp there and you spend, oh, probably several weeks, you know, roasting it on the barbecue. But, you know, at a certain point, it's just you move on. That's depending on how often they made these kills.

Yeah, you can kill an elephant, but are you going to be able to make use of all six tons of it? You know, you move the whole camp there and you spend, oh, probably several weeks, you know, roasting it on the barbecue. But, you know, at a certain point, it's just you move on. That's depending on how often they made these kills.

Yeah, you can kill an elephant, but are you going to be able to make use of all six tons of it? You know, you move the whole camp there and you spend, oh, probably several weeks, you know, roasting it on the barbecue. But, you know, at a certain point, it's just you move on. That's depending on how often they made these kills.

And one of the things that's really becoming clear, I mean, think about it. You're a hunter-gatherer. And let's just simplify it. You've got a stick with a sharp rock at the end of it. And you're staring down the very long nozzle of a Pleistocene elephant, a mammoth, which weighs six tons.

And one of the things that's really becoming clear, I mean, think about it. You're a hunter-gatherer. And let's just simplify it. You've got a stick with a sharp rock at the end of it. And you're staring down the very long nozzle of a Pleistocene elephant, a mammoth, which weighs six tons.

And one of the things that's really becoming clear, I mean, think about it. You're a hunter-gatherer. And let's just simplify it. You've got a stick with a sharp rock at the end of it. And you're staring down the very long nozzle of a Pleistocene elephant, a mammoth, which weighs six tons.

One of the things that we've done recently is a fair amount of experimental work with their weaponry, their projectile points. And what we discovered, and obviously we weren't using these on mammoths because, well, they've been extinct for 10,000 years.

One of the things that we've done recently is a fair amount of experimental work with their weaponry, their projectile points. And what we discovered, and obviously we weren't using these on mammoths because, well, they've been extinct for 10,000 years.

One of the things that we've done recently is a fair amount of experimental work with their weaponry, their projectile points. And what we discovered, and obviously we weren't using these on mammoths because, well, they've been extinct for 10,000 years.