The Evidence for Middle-Wisconsin Peopling of Beringia: An Evaluation

Abstract

Broken large mammal fossil bones in eastern Beringia have been used to argue for a middle-Wisconsin, or earlier, time of human entry into North America, It has been inferred that these controversial Pleistocene bones are artifacts because (1) they are similar to those found in archaeological sites and (2) they can be reproduced in the laboratory by replication. However, fractured, flaked, polished, faceted, cut, and scratched bones similar to the purportedly human artifacts described from Beringia are known to be produced by natural processes. New experimental data demonstrate that identifications of Pleistocene bone artifacts on the basis of differential staining and fresh breakage are suspect. Physical processes, such as the violent forces of river ice breakups in the north, and bone crushing by mammalian scavengers produce similar pseudo-artifacts. Additionally, the middle-Wisconsin dates associated with some of the finished tools, and human and dog bones from Beringia are open to question. The lack of credible dates on these artifacts raises doubt about the model of human colonization of Beringia, developed in the 1960s, which proposed an interstadial colonization of the New World.