Scientific research has revealed evidence that humans were present in the Americas far before what was previously believed. Scientists who conducted the study stated that they found human remains that dated back at least 20,000 years, and perhaps even much earlier. The findings were published in the journal Nature.
After meticulously examining the bones and teeth from a archaeological site in California, researchers were able to ascertain that the remains belonged to an ancient hominid species. It is likely that the remains came from a group of prehistoric humans anatomically different from modern humans, who entered the region as early as 130,000 years ago or earlier, according to researchers. This would put them in North America long before the first wave of Homo sapiens arrived in the region, which is estimated to have started around 15,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.
The study is significant because it adds to the growing body of evidence that contradicts the narrative of a single wave of migration to the Americas. It also challenges the view of the Migration Theory, which states that all humans in the Americas descended from ancestors who crossed the Bering Strait land bridge at the start of the last ice age. The findings suggest that multiple waves of migration to the Americas may have occurred before and after the Bering land bridge closed off.
The research team concluded that the remains were much older than previously thought and thus support the hypothesis of multiple migration events into the Americas. While the archaeological and fossil evidence of these migrations are still limited, this study adds to the growing amount of evidence that human settlement of the Americas was much more complex and lengthy than first thought.
