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New study pushes back human arrival in Americas

9 articles | Updated 12h ago | Created 2d ago

A groundbreaking new radiocarbon dating analysis of the famous Monte Verde archaeological site has revised its age from approximately fourteen and a half thousands, suggesting instead that humans settled this region more than twenty-eight millennia before present day scientists first discovered it in the 1970s to revolutionize thinking about when people entered America.

  1. 1
    A new archaeological study suggests the Monte Verde site in Chile is significantly older than previously calculated, potentially dating back over a decade earlier.
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    This revised timeline challenges long-standing theories that humans arrived in North America via Beringia between roughly 13,400 and 12,800 years ago (Clovis culture).
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    The findings imply human populations may have settled the Americas from South to North much earlier than established models predicted.
  4. 4
    "Again" is emphasized by multiple sources as this study renews debate that was already unsettled in previous decades.
[Mar 21, 09:35] (Portuguese) Pesquisa contests the age of Monte Verde site referenced in debates about American occupation (Rss.uol.com.br).
[Mar 20, 17:17] (Slovenian/English mix via RTVSLO.SI) New study challenges the timeline of when people settled in North America.
[Mar 20, 12:26] (Croatian/Serbian/Bosnian/Czech/Macedonian/Polish/Russian via Vecernji.hr) Findings found again overturn the story of American settlement.
[Mar 19, 21:30] (English/The Guardian) Archaeological site in Chile upends theory on how humans populated Americas; Clovis culture previously thought to cross Beringia between ~14k and ~15.6 years ago.
[Mar 19, 20:37] (English/Reuters) Study suggests younger age for Monte Verde site; scientists previously calculated it was about 18-14k+ or ~5.6 years old.
[Mar 19, 20:37] (English/Independent.co.uk) New study challenges Monte Verde site key to understanding how humans got to Americas; for decades strongest evidence came from this Chilean location.
Pesquisa contesta idade de sítio que é referência em debate sobre ocupação das Américas
Nova študija izpodbija časovnico tega, kdaj so se ljudje naselili na ameriški celini
Nova študija spodbija časovnico tega, kdaj so se ljudje naselili na ameriški celini
Nalazište u Čileu ponovno preokrenulo priču o naseljavanju Amerike
Archaeological site in Chile upends theory of how humans populated the Americas … again

A new study concludes that Monte Verde was misdated due to soil erosion placing recent artifacts into older layers, reducing its age from approximately 14,500 to between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago. This finding challenges the long-held theory of pre-Clovis human presence in South America by suggesting it supports a north-to-south migration model instead.