00:00These are the remains of an ancient armadillo, but that's not the big archaeological discovery
00:08here.
00:09Instead, the marks made in the bones are of scientific significance, as they are likely
00:12the first signs of the human species' presence in South America.
00:17The researchers say these butchered remains are some 21,000 years old, from the end of
00:21the Pleistocene era.
00:22They were found in what is now Argentina at the southern tip of the continent.
00:26Experts say a thorough analysis of the bones revealed extremely linear cuts through them,
00:31meaning they were not made by the teeth of another animal or by accident.
00:34In fact, the bones were also not disjointed, something which often occurs when being eaten
00:38by an animal, with the researchers adding that the incisions were made with stone tools.
00:43The period when these creatures lived and died by human hands would have been during
00:46the Ice Age, with the species going extinct around 11,000 years ago.
00:50This new revelation challenges the previous dating of Homo sapiens' arrival in South
00:54America.
00:55Still, the archaeologists say no human remains were found at the site, meaning they are still
00:59looking for definitive proof.
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