Scientists have learned new details about the diet of the first humans in North America during the Ice Age. By studying the bones of a young child found in southern Montana, researchers discovered information about his mother’s diet, who lived around 12,800 years ago. Since the child was still breastfeeding when he died, the chemicals in his bones reflected what his mother ate. The study showed that she mostly ate meat from large animals like mammoths. Mammoths made up about 40% of her diet, while other animals such as elk, bison, and camels made up the rest. This finding offers insight into the eating habits of the Clovis people, who are thought to have hunted large animals instead of gathering plants.

The results suggest that the Clovis people mainly ate megafauna, which are large animals like mammoths that provided plenty of food for groups. This hunting method helped humans spread across North and South America quickly. The study also implies that hunting megafauna may have led to their extinction. The research shows how human actions may have affected the environment during the Ice Age. Stable isotope analysis helped make these discoveries.