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posted by martyb on Wednesday September 04 2019, @03:43PM   Printer-friendly
from the Newest-Oldest dept.

https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-state-university-oldest-human-artifacts-idaho-north-america/

Ancient human artifacts found in a remote corner of Northwestern Idaho could deliver a major blow to a long-held theory that North America's first humans arrived by crossing a land bridge connected to Asia before moving south through the center of the continent.

The artifacts have been dated to as far back as 16,500 years ago, making them the oldest radiocarbon dated evidence of humans in North America, according to research published Thursday in the journal Science.

The artifacts are part of a trove discovered where Cooper's Ferry, Idaho, now stands. They are a thousand years older than what has previously been considered North America's most ancient known human remains. Together with dozens of other archaeological sites stretched across the continent, it helps decipher the story of when, and how, humans first arrived.

[...] The site at Cooper's Ferry doesn't fit with [the land Bering Strait land bridge] model. For one, the ice-free corridor probably didn't exist when humans first arrived at Cooper's Ferry — scientists think it didn't open up until about 15,000 years ago, which means these early people had to find a different route south. Other early sites challenged this theory, but none were this old, and the oldest were dated with a method considered less precise than radiocarbon dating.


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  • (Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Wednesday September 04 2019, @04:31PM (1 child)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Wednesday September 04 2019, @04:31PM (#889584)

    [...] The site at Cooper's Ferry doesn't fit with [the land Bering Strait land bridge] model.

    Well duh: there's a reason the place is called Cooper's FERRY...

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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday September 04 2019, @08:01PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 04 2019, @08:01PM (#889670) Journal

    That may not necessarily be true for every isotope of Cooper.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.