Comment on Bennett et al.’s Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum: Looking promising, and I have a couple of minor questions

There has been no shortage lately of claims of very early archaeological evidence from the Americas, from the stunningly early but very problematic Cerutti Mastodon at 130kya, to the slightly less stunning and still problematic Chiquihuite cave at 30kya, to the more sedately dated definite maybes at Cooper’s Ferry and the Gault site. The latest…

Comment on Somerville et al. (2021) on the possibility of 30k year old archaeological material in the Tehuacan Valley, Mexico

Somerville et al. (2021) recently raise the possibility in Latin American Antiquity of 30k year old archaeological material at Coxcatlan cave in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico. This one isn’t making much of a splash in the media (so far), and I suspect that is because it is actually cautious and very appropriately presented. At…

120kya in Australia? Bowler et al’s report on the Moyjil site is a model for how to present claims of early presence

Bower et al recently proposed archaeological evidence of a 120ky old human presence at the Moyjil in Australia. The oldest well-established archaeological material in Australia is currently just under 60ky old. As Bowler acknowledges in an interview, “That is a big jump to make”. How far do they get? It has become normal for the…

Stone tools at 15.5k at the Friedkin site : A definite maybe

Hot on the heels of the claim of a 16 000 year old human presence at the Gault site (Williams et al 2018) last August, Waters et al (2018) are claiming stone tools dated at 15 500 years at the nearby Friedkin site. Both of these are part of the pre-Clovis Buttermilk Creek complex. As…