Redefining the Age of Clovis: Implications for the Peopling of the Americas

TLDR

The Clovis complex, dated to 11,500–10,900 cal B.P., is the earliest unequivocal evidence of humans in the Americas. Revised radiocarbon dates place Clovis between 11,050–10,800 cal B.P., show it spread across North America in ~200 years, overlap with earlier sites, and suggest humans were present in the Americas before Clovis.

Abstract

The Clovis complex is considered to be the oldest unequivocal evidence of humans in the Americas, dating between 11,500 and 10,900 radiocarbon years before the present ( 14 C yr B.P.). Adjusted 14 C dates and a reevaluation of the existing Clovis date record revise the Clovis time range to 11,050 to 10,800 14 C yr B.P. In as few as 200 calendar years, Clovis technology originated and spread throughout North America. The revised age range for Clovis overlaps non-Clovis sites in North and South America. This and other evidence imply that humans already lived in the Americas before Clovis.