2007/02/23 by Michael R. Waters, Thomas W. Stafford · 575 citations
Social Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies #Radiocarbon dating #Archaeology #Range (aeronautics) #Archaeological record #Paleontology #Geology #Geography
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1137166
published in Science 315(5815), 1122-1126 (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
openalex publication_date 2007/02/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The Clovis complex is considered to be the oldest unequivocal evidence of humans in the Americas, dating between 11,500 and 10,900 radiocarbon years before the present (14C yr B.P.). Adjusted 14C dates and a reevaluation of the existing Clovis date record revise the Clovis time range to 11,050 to 10,800 14C yr B.P. In as few as 200 calendar years, Clovis technology originated and spread throughout North America. The revised age range for Clovis overlaps non-Clovis sites in North and South America. This and other evidence imply that humans already lived in the Americas before Clovis.