Columbus discovered America. Or was it the Vikings? Neither, really, because America had long been inhabited by humans. Even thousands of years earlier than previously thought:around 15,000 years ago, before the Clovis civilization.
America has been inhabited by humans for over ten thousand years. The oldest people in North America belonged to the Clovis civilization (as of about 13,100 years ago). But with new finds from Texas, this theory can be definitely off the table, say Michael Waters (Texas A&M University) and colleagues in Science. Our human species even lived in North America as early as 15,500 years ago.
Previous research
In itself, this theory is not new. Previous studies showed that humans may have been in North America before the Clovis culture. However, the number of finds in those studies was small and the dating often shaky.
An earlier study from 2008, also in Science, speaks of "little evidence of occupation of the Americas before 13,000 years ago". The best evidence of older habitation in the Americas to date was the Monte Verde site in Chile with artifacts dating back 14,600 years. Also in the northern US (in the state of Wisconsin) there are a few known sites where people hunted or ate mammoths about 14,800-14,200 years ago. Although there are many older claims, they are not very reliable. The Buttermilk Creek site in Texas (Friedkin), which Waters and colleagues report on, may therefore be a bit older.
So the question is not really whether the people from Texas are the first truly undeniable North Americans for the Clovis culture, but rather how the Americas were colonized.
The location
The site in Texas itself was an ideal place:there was enough flint of good quality for ancient humans to be found in the earth's layers. The site is also close to a small stream, so there is no shortage of water. The site was therefore heavily used for making artifacts for working bone, wood or ivory, and hides. In total, the researchers found 15,528 artifacts from the pre-Clovis period, 56 of which were tools. The rest was waste material. All the material was very well preserved in the clay layers. The site itself also contains artifacts from younger periods, but these could also be found in younger, higher layers. “Undisturbed”, the article tells about the artifacts based on six methods.
Age and distribution
Scientists made every effort to properly date the artifacts. Unfortunately, there was no organic material available for C-14 dating. Instead, the researchers used a dating method based on light. A conservative estimate is 13,200-15,500 years ago. Not only research at this site shows that man was already in the North America before the Clovis culture; earlier DNA research also points to this. Since humans have been found so south, other ancient finds are possible. Conclusion? This story is probably the starting point for more conclusive evidence about the early habitation of the Americas.
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