If the earliest migration into N. America happened 10k years ago, why fossils found in S. America dated 12k?

Question

Can anyone shed some light with appropriated evidence? Perhaps another landbridge?

Answer 1

The most recent DNA evidence (Haplogroups) indicates, that the Americas were peopled between 40,000-10,000 years ago, coming from Northeast Asia, primarily from two consecutive Ice Ages, 20,000 years apart, which were responsible for creating the Bering Land Bridges (There may have been many Land Bridges prior to those as well)...

Answer 2

This web site has a great lil illustration on human migrations

http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journe...

Answer 3

Because the experts argue over these things and it takes a long time for the truth to be figured out.  Sometimes it's because the expert with the most money wins.

Answer 4

The first migrations of peoples to North and South America is a rather complicated issue.  The general idea agreed amongst archaeologists is that the migration occured over the Bering Land Bridge, between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago.  However, the site of Monte Verde in Chile in South America have been dated at over 12,500 to 13,000 years old

A more controversial site, that of a cave with charcoal inside in Brazil,  has been found has been dated as old as 30,000 years.  But the lack of any discernible artifacts or bones puts this site at a longshot.

However,  biological anthropologists have taken DNA samples from living Native Americans and have found that there is evidence for several migrations that occured in the last 15,000 years.  The so called "molecular clock" is based on the mutation rates in mitochondrial DNA.  However, these mutation rates are problemmatic at best, and are only estimates.

The dating of organic materials associated with archaeological artifacts or human remains is relative dating, not absolute.  Carbon-14 dating is one such example that gives a range of dates, give or take 500 years.  

Just remember, the situation is this: the archaeology is written as the discoveries are being made.  So, the situation is fluid.  New discoveries await, and not everything has been discovered.  

For example, in Walker, Minnesota in 2007, a discovery of a site was made that may be 15,000 years old!  

Humans may have arrived also much earlier than before this, not by land bridges but by a coastal route by boat.  The sea level was lower then, due to the Ice Ages, and these coastal sites are now under water and await being discovered by new archaeological techniques.

As an archaeologist who has worked in the Midwest, I have personally found artifacts as old as 8,000 years (early Archaic).  

Expect the dates to be continually pushed back as the discoveries are being made.

Good question, by the way.

Answer 5

Fossil foot prints of man walking with dinosaurs. Dated give or take 1 million yrs ago. So you cant say that north and south America were devoid of humans till 10k years ago.

Answer 6

Well, there is quite a bit of wiggle room in that " earliest " migration number. Complain to the American Society of Anthropologists, as they will not listen to real scientists; geneticists, in this case.

Answer 7

You are mis-informed there are way older human fossils that 10k. Google search and see for your self.  Also, carbon dating is not so accurate, it can vary by up to 10k..... let us know what you find out.