Legal Insurrection by Leslie Eastman Monday, August 8, 2022
Mammoth Bones and ‘Ghost’ Footprints Stir Debate about Timing of Human Arrival in North America
Bones of mammoth and her calf found at an ancient butchering site in New Mexico show they were killed by people 37,000 years ago. In 2013, a tusk was found in New Mexico, as well as a bashed-in mammoth skull and other bones that looked “deliberately broken” and had blunt-force fractures. Carbon dating analysis suggests the pieces are roughly 37,000 years old, a discovery that could have significant implications in tracing humans’ earliest existence in the Americas.
The area where the remains were found is an ancient butchering site where humans appeared to process their kills, although it’s hard to determine what was done by humans and what was done naturally, said researchers at the University of Texas at Austin. Researchers also found rodent teeth and the remains of birds, fish, snails and a a lizard at the site.
Earlier research led scientists to believe the first humans that settled in North America belonged to the Clovis culture, who left behind stone-wrought tools 16,000 years ago.
But carbon dating analysis on collagen extracted from the mammoth bones date the butchering site at 36,250 to 38,900 years old. That means it’s the oldest known site left behind by ancient humans in North America.
More:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/08/mammoth-bones-and-ghost-footprints-stir-debate-about-timing-of-human-arrival-in-north-america/
