4 ms·
A decade ago, archaeologists would have been completely flabbergasted to find evidence that people were living in North America 18,000 years ago. At that point,
by causi 3y ago
A decade ago, archaeologists would have been completely flabbergasted to find evidence that people were living in North America 18,000 years ago. At that point, the oldest evidence of people anywhere on the continent dated to around 13,000 years ago, in the form of long projectile points with flutes: narrow notches at their bases, creating a shallow groove to fit a wooden shaft for hafting.
This is not true. A decade ago, it is true that the "clovis clique" was in full bloom, stomping all over the research and sometimes whole careers of anybody who cast doubt on the "clovis first" narrative.
- WarOnPrivacy 3y agoI like the dark part of histories (in this case the history of historical research). For me, the hope I get from how we survived bad behavior is more enriching than any quasi-fictional hero narrative.
- cpncrunch 3y ago20 years ago would be accurate.
- jcranmer 3y agoMy understanding is that pre-Clovis evidence really starts mounting in the early 90's, and by 2000 or so, there's not really any Clovis-First proponents among the archaeologists doing the work, although other people do take longer to get the message.
- brudgers 3y ago20 years from now would be accurate too. The future is not evenly distributed and the past isn't even past.
- bigfryo 3y agoAs always, science advances one funeral at a time
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- actaeon169 3y agoFWIW, I took a cultural anthropology course in 2003 from a local community college in the Bay Area. We were taught the "Clovis First" theory was on its way out and I remember "20,000 years ago" being the newer thinking.