here is a big bear:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/expltx/piney/queencity/short.htm
Available information suggests that Arctodus simus, the short-faced bear, was the largest and most aggressive carnivore to ever exist in Cass County, Texas. It
was an extraordinary creature that could not be matched in speed, strength, and ability to track down prey. It's position in the food pyramid of 12,000 years ago
indicates that tons of biomass was required to support only one member of this species. Since we know that the existence of just one of a species will not
perpetuate that species, there must have been at least a few around at the same time near the end of the Pleistocene geologic time period when paleo man made
his debut here.
Unusually tall, the short-faced bear reached nearly two meters at the shoulders when walking on all four legs. When it reared up on its hind limbs to run like a
man, it stood 3.4 meters tall. Much taller than a black bear, Arctodus had a much slimmer and streamlined shape. Its waistline was about the same girth as the
legs. This made it fast and agile. Nothing could get away from this predator. With a relatively short face lacking a well marked forehead, it had a short broad
muzzle resembling a lion rather than any living North American bear. With these teeth and giant razor sharp claws, the short-faced bear easily shredded hair,
hide, flesh and muscle tissue.
Arctodus became widespread in North America about one million years ago occupying well drained grasslands and forests west of the Mississippi River. Its
northern range, the Yukon and Alaska, is documented by partial skeletons recovered by archaeologists in frozen silt near Dawson City, at Old Crow Basin,
Edmonton and Lebret. Pleistocene northlands offered a variety of delicious entrees to any carnivore with a healthy appetite. Huge bison-larger than any alive
today- roamed the wilds along with giant ground sloths, ancient horses, muskoxen, caribou, and deer. Carbon dating to 30,000 years ago puts Arctodus in North
America as a contemporary of the first human occupants, the paleoindians. Its presence has been indicated by archaeological finds as close to Cass County as El
Derado and Lubbock. Therefore, inference puts the beast right here with our first human inhabitants. Because of our acidic soil and high humidity, no Arctodus
bones will be found. However, primitive rock tools of paleoindians are common as is evidence of a technological advancement in weaponry that may play a role
in the demise of the most feared carnivore.
Imagine the scenario of man being hunted instead of being the hunter. How about being tracked by the biggest, fastest, most agile predator to ever walk the face
of North America? Your defense consists of a bunch of hand held sticks with pointed rocks attached at one end. And this guy is like the present day Kodiak
bear, it does not give up! If necessity IS the mother of invention, could this predator have pressed early peoples to come up with a quick fix for their extreme
need? Could it have picked on the wrong animal? After all, early man did have one asset over Arctodus, ... brain power!
The local archaeological record indicates a sparse but widespread habitation of the area as far back as 12,000 years ago. These earliest people were nomadic
hunter gatherers living in small family groups and subsisting off of fish, mammals, roots, berries and nuts. The predominant weapon for hunting and defense
was the spear. Rock points found in the county by amateurs as well as professional archaeologists date to the close of the ice age; Clovis, Folsum, Scotts Bluff,
Plainview, and Lubbock. At some point in time around 10,000 years ago, cultural characteristics changed to include larger bands of nomads accessing resources
in a more organized fashion with a new weapon. This "archaic period" lasted from about 10,000 years ago until about 4,000 years ago when agriculture emerged
as a predominant subsistence method. Over this 6,000 year span, the weapon of choice became the atlatl, a small spear with fore and hind shafts which was
utilized with a throwing stick. This invention was a giant leap in technology because the throwing stick employed leverage and allowed for killing to be done at a
distance. Hunting of large animals could be done much more safely. Suddenly, advantage went to the human beings. About 8,000 years ago, the short-faced bear
is no more-extinction! Over the next thousand years, all the other large mammals become extinct. Should archaic man have been more selective in his "thinning"
of the large mammals? One scientific theory professes that these people closed the door forever on North America's megafauna. Another theory states that the
slow warming of the Earth that persists today was the cause. Whatever the reason, Arctodus simus has vanished along with its many relatives. If your people
were being exterminated by a monster bear, and all you had was wood and rocks, what would you do about it?