The Clovis In North America
The Clovis were an ancient group of people who were believed to be the first to inhabit North America. They were believed to initially come down from the land bridge known as the Bering Strait around 1300 years ago. Some believe that this is not the case. Evidence of human existence in the Americas before this period has been few and far between until now. In a sinkhole about 30 miles west of Tallahassee, Florida, under 9 feet of murky water, divers found many artifacts, such as a stone knife and the remains of a hunted mastodon, that were carbon dated to about 14,400 years ago. Archaeologists figure it is likely that these pre-Clovis people killed and ate much of the mastodon, and left behind the man made knife and it’s carcass. The dating
on these findings is what strikes researchers as odd. Michael Waters, anthropology professor at Texas A&M and the director of The Center of the Study of the First Americans, concluded that migration across the Bering Strait would have been impossible for the people in this time. This is because the path through Canada would have been obstructed by large sheets of ice until 2 millennia later. The discovery of man made tools dated back to about 1,500 years before it was believed people inhabited North America is astronomical. Not only does it show that people understood the land enough to hunt and gather fresh water, implying they have been there for a while. It also debunks the idea that the crossing of the Bering Strait was the first migration of people into North America. This further fuels the idea that these first colonists came on boats. For years, students of all ages have been taught about the first people in the Americas, and they were taught wrong. This fact doesn’t alter everything we know about ancient civilization, but it is important that people are taught the truth. Hopefully, the information in these findings become common knowledge, just as the migration across the Bering Strait has.
on these findings is what strikes researchers as odd. Michael Waters, anthropology professor at Texas A&M and the director of The Center of the Study of the First Americans, concluded that migration across the Bering Strait would have been impossible for the people in this time. This is because the path through Canada would have been obstructed by large sheets of ice until 2 millennia later. The discovery of man made tools dated back to about 1,500 years before it was believed people inhabited North America is astronomical. Not only does it show that people understood the land enough to hunt and gather fresh water, implying they have been there for a while. It also debunks the idea that the crossing of the Bering Strait was the first migration of people into North America. This further fuels the idea that these first colonists came on boats. For years, students of all ages have been taught about the first people in the Americas, and they were taught wrong. This fact doesn’t alter everything we know about ancient civilization, but it is important that people are taught the truth. Hopefully, the information in these findings become common knowledge, just as the migration across the Bering Strait has.