The Origin of the Native Americans
The Mystery of Monte Verde (Chile), and the End of the Clovis Protocol
The Monte Verde site is located near Puerto Montt, Chile.
In 1975, a local student discovered some unusual animal bones, which were later identified as mastodon bones. Subsequently, geologist Mario Pino and anthropologist Tom Dillehay began excavation work, confirming that the site had been inhabited by approximately 20 people.
Findings included mastodon bones, food remnants, ropes, charcoal, wood, traces of meat from ancestral llamas, and remains of numerous plants. The site was preserved due to being submerged under peat and other plant material. Additionally, a layer of volcanic-origin iron oxide was found above the peat layer.
The charcoal remnants were dated using the Carbon-14 method. The surprising result of 12,800 BCE prompted a complete reconsideration of the Clovis theory, which had identified the New Mexico site as the oldest in the Americas.
During further excavations in 1997, additional evidence of fires was found. The charcoal from these was dated to 31,000 BCE.
Thus, the "Clovis first" theory (or Clovis protocol) was debunked.
Today, the majority of scientists accept the dating of Monte Verde, recognizing it as the oldest human-inhabited site in the Americas. However, they suggest that the people who reached Monte Verde originated from Beringia, traveling approximately 10,000 kilometers along the Pacific coastline before settling in present-day southern Chile.
This theory, known in scientific circles as the "American coastal migration theory," has several flaws, in my opinion.
How could small groups of Homo sapiens have navigated along the Pacific coast for about 10,000 kilometers only to settle in southern Chile? How could small groups of humans, without knowledge of agriculture and thus unable to store grains, have undertaken such long oceanic journeys, even if coastal?
I believe it is wise to consider the peopling of the Americas from a broader perspective, entirely disentangled from the Bering theory.
The "American coastal migration theory" merely reiterates that the ancient inhabitants of Monte Verde were descendants of North Asians who crossed into North America via Beringia and then decided to travel to Chile.
In my view, we need to break free from the Bering hypothesis and begin considering that South America, not North America, was the first to be inhabited by groups of Homo sapiens.
The discoveries at Pedra Furada are fundamental to understanding this alternative theory, which aligns with the polygenetic theory.
Brazilian archaeologist Niede Guidon, whose studies are widely accepted, dated some human bones found in the archaeological area of Piauí, Brazil, to 12,000 years ago. However, during an interview she granted me in 2009, she confirmed that some hearth remains were dated to as far back as 60,000 years ago.
Monte Verde is therefore not an isolated case of ancient human presence in South America; Pedra Furada also contributes to this narrative.
According to Dr. Niede Guidon, the Homo sapiens in Piauí came directly from Africa, and their navigation (possibly driven by fortuitous circumstances) was aided by the fact that 60 millennia ago, during the glacial period, sea levels were much lower than they are today.
Dr. Guidon suggests that the initial population of Homo sapiens in Piauí was very small, numbering no more than a few dozen individuals at first, eventually growing to several thousand.
Then there are the alternative theories, such as Mendes Correa's hypothesis, which proposes colonization of Antarctica and then Tierra del Fuego by Australoid Homo sapiens, and Paul Rivet’s polygenetic theory, which suggests a more recent arrival directly from Melanesia and Polynesia.
Could the Homo sapiens of Piauí have spread throughout the continent in just a few millennia?
The discovery of Pedra Pintada cave (Brazil, Pará State, 9310 BCE) partially supports this hypothesis.
Additionally, there is the skeleton of Luzia, a woman who lived near the site known as Lapa Vermelha (Minas Gerais State) around 9500 BCE. Some anthropologists have described Luzia’s physical traits as Australoid or African, rather than distinctly Mongoloid.
Other significant sites include Lauricocha (Peru, 10,000 BCE) and El Abra (Colombia, 11,000 BCE).
Returning to the Monte Verde site, current knowledge does not allow us to clearly determine the origins of the Homo sapiens who lived there. It remains a mystery that cannot yet be solved.
In my view, however, the abundance of evidence for ancient human presence in South America, starting with Pedra Furada (60,000 BCE), strongly challenges the Bering theory, along with the Clovis protocol and the American coastal migration theory, as the "primary and initial" explanation.
These theories should not be discarded, but they must be considered complementary to the settlement of South America, which likely predates that of North America.
YURI LEVERATTO
