Clovis Culture May Not Be First in Americas

The Clovis culture, characterized by stone weapons and dating back roughly 13,000 years, has been thought to be the first on the Americas for decades. This "Clovis-first" model suggests the original Americans crossed a land bridge linking Siberia and Alaska during the last ice age, and spread to the southern tip of South America within the following thousand years.

A new study published by Colorado's Thomas Stafford Jr. and Michael Waters of Texas A&M University, however, is being said to put the Clovis-first theory to rest. The known Clovis artifacts were carbon-dated back in the 1960s and 70s using techniques that are now obsolete. By re-dating the artifacts using modern methods, researchers have found Clovis technology to be 500 years younger than previously thought (13,100 years old, rather than 13,600) and to have lasted only 200 to 350 years. Given that relatively short duration, it seems "humanly impossible" that a group of hunters and their descendants could have spread across the Americas in such a short time span. Rather, it is suggested that the Clovis culture technology spread through an existing population.