Technology
Monte Verde site's age revised, impact on Americas' peopling minimal
A re-evaluation of the Monte Verde site in Chile suggests human habitation around 8,000 years ago, contrasting with the previously claimed 14,500 years. Despite this revised dating, the established understanding of early human presence in the Americas remains largely unchanged.
Archaeologist Todd Surovell and colleagues at the University of Wyoming re-examined the age of the Monte Verde site in southern Chile. Their findings indicate that the site was inhabited approximately 8,000 years ago. This contrasts with the initial dating in 1997, which suggested human occupation around 14,500 years ago, based on radiocarbon dating of wood and seaweed found in sediment. The original dating challenged the prevailing "Clovis First" hypothesis, which posited that the Americas were uninhabited until about 13,000 years ago. Monte Verde's location, far from the Bering Land Bridge, supported the theory of earlier human presence. According to Ars Technica, the revised dating does not significantly alter the broader understanding of how the Americas were populated.
Key Facts
- A re-evaluation places human habitation at Chile's Monte Verde site around 8,000 years ago.
- Previous dating of the Monte Verde site suggested an age of 14,500 years.
- The initial Monte Verde dating challenged the "Clovis First" theory.
- Monte Verde is geographically distant from the Bering Land Bridge.
- Original dating relied on radiocarbon analysis of wood and seaweed.
- Revised dating does not reinstate the "Clovis First" hypothesis.
- The 1997 findings indicated a human presence in southern Chile much earlier than previously thought.
Primary Source
Research Sources
- Ars Technica — Monte Verde site gets a new date, but the big picture doesn't change