Mysterious ancient tunnels discovered in South America were likely not created by humans or geological processes, according to recent findings.
Why it matters: The discovery challenges our understanding of how these intricate underground passages were formed and suggests the involvement of extinct megafauna, specifically giant ground sloths, in their creation.
The details:
- Geologist Heinrich Theodor Frank discovered the tunnels, which measure about 1.8 meters in height and extend up to 600 meters in length, primarily in the Grande do Sul region of Brazil.
- The tunnels feature huge claw scratches and distinct characteristics that do not appear on any of the sloths’ modern descendants.
- Frank and his team discovered over a thousand of these tunnels in the Rio Grande do Sul area alone, with the longest extending for 609 meters (2,000 feet).
- The tunnels are believed to date back to the Pleistocene epoch, approximately 10,000 to 15 million years ago, when nearly 100 different species of sloths inhabited the Americas.
According to Frank, “There’s no geological process in the world that produces long tunnels with a circular or elliptical cross-section, which branch and rise and fall, with claw marks on the walls.”
The giant sloth theory:
- The Megatherium, or related genera, are thought to have been herbivores capable of creating such tunnels with their massive claws.
- It is believed that multiple generations of sloths constructed these tunnels to serve as shelters.
- Some of these ancient sloths were as large as an African elephant, significantly different from the smaller sloths we are familiar with today.
Human interaction: Research indicates that humans may have interacted with these sloths, as human footprints in a stalking pattern have been discovered near sloth tracks.
“Sloths would have been formidable prey. Their strong arms and sharp claws gave them a lethal reach and clear advantage in close-quarter encounters,” specialists note.
The implications: This discovery is reshaping our understanding of the Ice Age, providing new insights not only about sloths but also about human-animal dynamics during this period.
