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Evidence of human occupation in Mexico around the Last Glacial Maximum

Author

Listed:
  • Ciprian F. Ardelean

    (Unidad Académica de Antropología, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas
    University of Exeter)

  • Lorena Becerra-Valdivia

    (University of Oxford
    University of New South Wales)

  • Mikkel Winther Pedersen

    (University of Copenhagen)

  • Jean-Luc Schwenninger

    (University of Oxford)

  • Charles G. Oviatt

    (Kansas State University)

  • Juan I. Macías-Quintero

    (Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas)

  • Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales

    (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia)

  • Martin Sikora

    (University of Copenhagen)

  • Yam Zul E. Ocampo-Díaz

    (Universidad Autónoma de San Luís Potosí
    Grupo de Geología Exógena y del Sedimentario)

  • Igor I. Rubio-Cisneros

    (Grupo de Geología Exógena y del Sedimentario)

  • Jennifer G. Watling

    (Universidade de São Paulo)

  • Vanda B. Medeiros

    (Universidade de São Paulo)

  • Paulo E. Oliveira

    (Universidade de São Paulo
    The Field Museum of Natural History)

  • Luis Barba-Pingarón

    (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM))

  • Agustín Ortiz-Butrón

    (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM))

  • Jorge Blancas-Vázquez

    (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM))

  • Irán Rivera-González

    (Laboratorio de Palinología, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia (ENAH))

  • Corina Solís-Rosales

    (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM))

  • María Rodríguez-Ceja

    (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM))

  • Devlin A. Gandy

    (University of Cambridge)

  • Zamara Navarro-Gutierrez

    (Unidad Académica de Antropología, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas)

  • Jesús J. Rosa-Díaz

    (Unidad Académica de Antropología, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas)

  • Vladimir Huerta-Arellano

    (Unidad Académica de Antropología, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas)

  • Marco B. Marroquín-Fernández

    (Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas)

  • L. Martin Martínez-Riojas

    (Unidad Académica de Antropología, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas)

  • Alejandro López-Jiménez

    (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia)

  • Thomas Higham

    (University of Oxford)

  • Eske Willerslev

    (University of Copenhagen
    Welcome Trust, Sanger Institute
    University of Southern Denmark
    University of Cambridge)

Abstract

The initial colonization of the Americas remains a highly debated topic1, and the exact timing of the first arrivals is unknown. The earliest archaeological record of Mexico—which holds a key geographical position in the Americas—is poorly known and understudied. Historically, the region has remained on the periphery of research focused on the first American populations2. However, recent investigations provide reliable evidence of a human presence in the northwest region of Mexico3,4, the Chiapas Highlands5, Central Mexico6 and the Caribbean coast7–9 during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs. Here we present results of recent excavations at Chiquihuite Cave—a high-altitude site in central-northern Mexico—that corroborate previous findings in the Americas10–17of cultural evidence that dates to the Last Glacial Maximum (26,500–19,000 years ago)18, and which push back dates for human dispersal to the region possibly as early as 33,000–31,000 years ago. The site yielded about 1,900 stone artefacts within a 3-m-deep stratified sequence, revealing a previously unknown lithic industry that underwent only minor changes over millennia. More than 50 radiocarbon and luminescence dates provide chronological control, and genetic, palaeoenvironmental and chemical data document the changing environments in which the occupants lived. Our results provide new evidence for the antiquity of humans in the Americas, illustrate the cultural diversity of the earliest dispersal groups (which predate those of the Clovis culture) and open new directions of research.

Suggested Citation

  • Ciprian F. Ardelean & Lorena Becerra-Valdivia & Mikkel Winther Pedersen & Jean-Luc Schwenninger & Charles G. Oviatt & Juan I. Macías-Quintero & Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales & Martin Sikora & Yam Zul E. Oca, 2020. "Evidence of human occupation in Mexico around the Last Glacial Maximum," Nature, Nature, vol. 584(7819), pages 87-92, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:584:y:2020:i:7819:d:10.1038_s41586-020-2509-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2509-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Gabriel Aguirre-Fernández & Chiara Barbieri & Anna Graff & José Pérez de Arce & Hyram Moreno & Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra, 2021. "Cultural macroevolution of musical instruments in South America," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-12, December.

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