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The 13,000-year-old California Discovery that Challenged a Long-held Theory about ... - edhat

edhat.com

A pair of 13,000-year-old femurs found in California are forcing a rethink of who first settled North America and how they got there.

Clovis First ModelMigration TheoryOut-of-Africa TheoryPopulation Bottleneck

Theory Briefing

  • Femurs recovered in California rank among the oldest human skeletal remains ever found in North America, dating back roughly 13,000 years.
  • Their age and location challenge a long-standing theory about the route or timing of the first human migration into the Americas.
  • Physical remains this old are extraordinarily rare, making these bones unusually direct evidence in a debate usually fought with stone tools and genetics.
  • The discovery reopens questions about whether multiple migration waves or alternate coastal routes brought people to the continent earlier than assumed.