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Ancient tools found in Maryland show the first humans came to America 7,000 YEARS earlier than previously thought, scientist claims
The timeline for when humans first came to America has been shrouded in mystery, shifting by thousands of years on either side.
Now a geologist from the Smithsonian Institution believes he has uncovered new evidence in Maryland that could rewrite the nation's history.
Darrin Lowery discovered 286 artifacts in the Chesapeake Bay, with the oldest embedded in charcoal that dated back more than 22,000 - at least 7,000 years earlier than what scientists believe was when people initially populated America.
Lowery and his team have been excavating Parsons Island for over a decade, finding ancient stone tools in layers of sediment that were dated by studying preserved pollen and microfossils.
Researchers have been excavating Parsons Island for over a decade, finding ancient stone tools in layers of sediment that were dated by studying preserved pollen and microfossils
The leading theory of 'The Great Migration' is that humans crossed from Asia, then over the Bering Strait Bridge and traveled down into the US about 15,000 years ago.
The path of their journey is believed to have pointed southward, as scientists have uncovered stone projectile points, known as Clovis points, leading the way.
The idea stems from genetic studies of Native American ancestors, but the latest evidence was based on manmade tools that Lowery believes makes Maryland a Clovis Point.
Lowery told the Washington Post that he has been investigating the 78-acre island since he was nine years old when he first found ancient flint tools while walking along the shoreline.
He and his team discovered the first evidence of ancient humans back in 2013 when they uncovered a leaf-shaped prehistoric stone tool protruding out of a cliff.
The tool was spotted in a dark layer as low as Lowery's knees, which turned out to be more than 20,000-year-old sediment.
The team uncovered tools jammed into sediment, which they dated to uncover when the artifacts were made
After that, the geologists returned to survey the island 93 more times and uncovered the trove of tools.
Sediment samples were then sent to labs for analysis, allowing researchers to create a the geological timeline, according to a manuscript posted by Lowery.
Lowery said the tools were found in dates to the 'last glacial maximum' - the most recent coldest period of the Ice Age.
The claims, however, have brought on more questions, such as how the early people arrived in Maryland, were they ancestors to Native Americans and now many migrations waves were there in America's history?
Darrin Lowery discovered 286 artifacts in the Chesapeake Bay, with the oldest embedded in charcoal that dated back more than 22,000
While the discoveries in Maryland would push the timeline back, other evidence in New Mexico dates the first human appears to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago
Parsons Island is among the growing list of pre-Clovis sites as the 'Clovis First' has been argued for decades - it claims the first humans reached the Americas about 13,000 years ago.
The issues stem from being able to accurately date sites because sediment shifts over time and can push layers deeper, making them appear older than they really are.
Then there are the artifacts, which could be proclaimed as fashioned by human hands but were weathered by natural elements.
However, Lowery said his methods used different labs to determine dates for the ancient tools found in Maryland.
While the discoveries would push the timeline back, other evidence in New Mexico dates the first human appears to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago.
British and American archaeologists uncovered the prints in soft mud adjoining Alkali Flat, a dry lakebed at White Sands National Park in southern New Mexico.
Using radiocarbon dating of seed layers above and below the tracks, experts from the U.S. Geological Survey dated the footprints as having been made over a period of at least 2,000 years.
The oldest tracks date from around 23,000 years ago, a period that corresponds to the Last Glacial Maximum, when ice sheets covered much of North America and sea levels were about 400 feet lower than today.