ASSOCIATED PRESS
New evidence shows humans lived in North America more than 14,000 years ago, a full 1,000 years earlier than had previously been known.
Discovered in a cave in Oregon, fossilized feces yielded DNA indicating these early residents were related to people living in Siberia and East Asia, according to a report published online yesterday by the journal Science.
“This is the first time we have been able to get dates that are undeniably human, and they are 1,000 years before Clovis,” said Dennis L. Jenkins, a University of Oregon archaeologist, referring to the Clovis culture, known for its unique spear points that have been studied previously.
Humans are widely thought to have arrived in North America from Asia over a land bridge between Alaska and Siberia during a warmer period. Many such dates have been proposed.
Few artifacts were found in the cave, leading Mr. Jenkins to speculate that these people stayed there only a few days at a time before moving on, perhaps stalking game or looking for other food.
The petrified human waste — called coprolites — is yielding a look at the diet of these ancient Americans, Mr. Jenkins said.
While the analysis is not yet complete, he said there are squirrel bones, bison hair, fish scales, protein from birds and dogs and the remains of plants such as grass and sunflowers.
The oldest of several coprolites studied is 14,340 years old, said co-author Eske Willerslev, director of the Center for Ancient Genetics at Denmark’s University of Copenhagen.
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