When researchers first arrived at a cave high in the desert mountains of north-central Mexico, they hoped to learn what the environment was like there thousands of years ago.
But the unexpected discovery of what they believe is an ancient projectile point led to a decade-long excavation that could rewrite the history of the Americas.
According to a paper published today in the journal Nature, the site, known as Chiquihuite Cave, may contain evidence of human occupation that places people in North America around 30,000 years ago—roughly twice as early as most current estimates for when the first humans arrived on the continent.
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The question of when people first arrived in the Americas has been debated for more than a century. For much of that time the reigning theory put the arrival around 13,500 years ago. But archaeologists are now exploring sites that keep pushing the date farther back, including some who have reported finding signs of human presence beyond 30,000 years ago.
- The evidence supporting those claims is hotly contested, and this latest discovery is already stirring more controversy.
“Everybody knows that when you step in the ring at this level, you are looking for an international debate, you're going to get it, and you should have your defense prepared,” says Loren Davis, an archaeologist at Oregon State University. “To me, it's inevitable. We're going to continue to push this back until there's no farther back to go.”
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