Holocene Megafauna survived later than previously thought

Xenorhinotherium by Themium

A recent study has shown that the south american ungulates Palaeolama major and Xenorhinotherium bahiense survived until 3,500 years Before Present. The study concludes that, rather than human hunting, South America’s megafauna died out due to “Broken Zig Zag” theory, suggesting a heavier emphasis on claimatic events.

I don’t buy it entirely, since other studies have shown megafauna extinction to be intimately linked to human arrival at least in Australia and some taxa survived for thousands with years before succumbing (sloths in the Caribbean, Zygomaturus and thylacines in Australia) but are still considered to have been driven extinct by humans.

Still, South America’s megafauna has been very prone dying out across the Cenozoic due to climatic events. Maybe in this case the climate really did it, but I’m still skeptical.