Ardelean, Ciprian Florin; Becerra Valdivia, Lorena; Winther Pedersen, Mikkel; Schwenninger, Jean Luc; Oviatt, Charles G.; Macías Quintero, Juan; Arroyo Cabrales, Joaquín; Sikora, Martin; Ocampo Díaz, Yam Zul; Rubio Cisneros, Igor; Watling, Jennifer; de Medeiros, Vanda; De Oliveira, Paulo; Barba Pingarón, Luis; Ortiz Butrón, Agustín; Blancas Vázquez, Jorge; Rivera González, Irán; Solís Rosales, Corina; Rodriguez Ceja, María; Gandy, Devlin; Navarro Gutierrez, Zamara; De La Rosa Díaz, Jesús; Huerta Arellano, Vladimir; Marroquín Fernández, Marco; Martínez Riojas, Martín; López Jiménez, Alejandro; Higham, Thomas; Willerslev, Eske
Resumen:
The initial colonization of the Americas remains a highly debated topic1
, and the
exact timing of the frst 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 frst Americanpopulations2
. 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 fndings in the Americas10–17of cultural evidence that dates to
the Last Glacial Maximum (26,500–19,000years ago)18, and which push back dates for
human dispersal to the region possibly as early as 33,000–31,000years ago. The site
yielded about 1,900stone artefacts within a 3-m-deep stratifed sequence, revealing a
previously unknown lithic industry that underwent only minor changes over
millennia. More than 50radiocarbon 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.