Hunt History

There is no direct, unambiguous archaeological evidence that humans hunted Euceratherium collinum (shrub-ox). However, based on its time range, co-occurrence with human groups, and extinction timing, some inferences and debates exist:

Euceratherium survived until around 11,500 radiocarbon years BP in North America.

Its extinction coincides roughly with the timing of many Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions in North America and the spread of Paleoindian (e.g. Clovis) populations.

Scholars have included Euceratherium in broader analyses of large-mammal extinctions possibly influenced by human predation pressures (e.g. “overkill” or human-mediated declines), though evidence specific to it is speculative.

Because Euceratherium was not a giant beast (compared to mammoths or mastodons) and inhabited rugged terrain, it may have been less targeted or encountered less often by human hunters.

Some remains are recovered from caves and shelters, but these may reflect natural death or habitation rather than human hunting.