How did late Pleistocene extinctions affect large artiodactyls in North America?

The late Pleistocene extinctions, which reached a zenith in North America around 9000 BCE, significantly impacted large artiodactyls, leading to the disappearance of numerous species. Among the extinct grazers and browsers were camels, llamas, shrub oxen, woodland musk oxen, stag-moose, and two genera each of deer and pronghorn antelope.12

The causes of these extinctions remain a subject of intense scientific debate, primarily centered on two hypotheses:
* Overkill Hypothesis: This theory suggests that human hunters, arriving in the New World, exploited large animals that were unaccustomed to such predators.23
* Climatic Change: This hypothesis focuses on the environmental stress caused by the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, including the reorganization of vegetation, increased seasonality, and the loss of habitats.34

While many large mammals vanished, some species, such as the bison, survived the extinction wave. Ultimately, the environmental shifts at the end of the Pleistocene led to the formation of new biotic communities, which likely contributed to the demise of many faunal forms that could not adapt to the changing conditions.24