Settlement of the Americas: 18,000 or 30,000 years ago?

From today's NY Times:

Scientists studying the genetic signatures of Siberians and American Indians have found evidence that the first human migrations to the New World from Siberia probably occurred no earlier than 18,000 years ago.

The new estimate undermines arguments for colonization as far back as 30,000 years ago, but reinforces archaeological findings and a linguistic theory that most American languages belong to a single family called Amerind.

The genetic evidence fits neatly, for example, with the discovery of a human campsite in Chile, which is apparently 15,000 years old, and with the well-established presence of big-game hunters in North America, starting 13,600 years ago. The few sites with possibly older human traces have yet to gain wide acceptance among scientists.

Posted by David on July 25, 2003 10:26 AM