Earliest Americans Remains: Ice Age Child Found in Prehistoric Alaskan Home

[kennyc]

Brian Handwerk

for National Geographic News

Published February 24, 2011

In what's now central Alaska, one of the first Americans—only three years old at the time—was laid to rest in a pit inside his or her house 11,500 years ago, a new excavation reveals.

The ancient home site and human remains—the oldest known in subarctic North America—provide an unprecedented glimpse into the daily lives of Ice Age Americans, scientists say. ...


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...laska-science/

[wodin]

I saw a Science Channel documentary last evening about the pre-Columbian “discoverers" of America (both North and South). They made quite a case for two separate migrations around 20,000 BC. One was the traditional Aleutian land bridge of northern Asians and the other, at about the same time, from Europe. The Europeans became the ancestors of the Cherokees of the south eastern US. The two cultures eventually merged to become the Clovis culture throughout North America.

They also included at various time periods and with various degrees of credibility the Polynesians, Chinese, Japanese, Irish, Egyptians, Vikings (of course) etc.

I think if they could have made a case for the Martians, they would have included them.

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by wodin

I think if they could have made a case for the Martians, they would have included them.

Those were the ones with antannae which go up and down. I had a Favorite Martian once......


(sorry - don't mean to disrupt a serious thread. going to read article now)

[CazMar]

I have been lucky enough to visit Lake Mungo (in western New South Wales, Australia) where the oldest human remains in Australia have been found - dating over 60,000 years. There are still traces of old bone and charcoal fragments of fires from people living there many thousands of years ago. It is very humbling and poignant to think of these people living so long ago, yet so much like us. They cared for their people and buried them in a careful and respectful way, they made things, they left artwork and carefully worked tools.
We were so struck by Lake Mungo that we visited it again 2 days later, even despite the remote area and dirt track.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by CazMar

I have been lucky enough to visit Lake Mungo (in western New South Wales, Australia) where the oldest human remains in Australia have been found - dating over 60,000 years. There are still traces of old bone and charcoal fragments of fires from people living there many thousands of years ago. It is very humbling and poignant to think of these people living so long ago, yet so much like us. They cared for their people and buried them in a careful and respectful way, they made things, they left artwork and carefully worked tools.
We were so struck by Lake Mungo that we visited it again 2 days later, even despite the remote area and dirt track.

Good for you! I can be humbling and fill one with a sense of wonder.

[The Terminator]

Thats pretty cool except for the age....... But this isn't in the P&R thread so I won't say anything

[GeoffC]

as if that would stop .....

[GeoffC]

Alaskan home

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by CazMar

...It is very humbling and poignant to think of these people living so long ago, yet so much like us. They cared for their people and buried them in a careful and respectful way, they made things, they left artwork and carefully worked tools.

I would love to see that, I am fascinated that they can infer so much information by so little. I remember reading about an excavation in England where they found a mass grave and they could tell where they were from and what they preferred to eat and ultimately what killed them, other people, guess if it was the swine flu it might have been more difficult.

I suppose if they didn't take care and bury their dead with respect we wouldn't be finding their remains in a state worth studying. I doubt we would find much information about daily life of the conquered tribe that was captured by cannibals. We do tend to project our own morals and standards to the ancient peoples we discover, it's human nature.

cheers

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by wodin

I saw a Science Channel documentary last evening about the pre-Columbian “discoverers" of America (both North and South). They made quite a case for two separate migrations around 20,000 BC. One was the traditional Aleutian land bridge of northern Asians and the other, at about the same time, from Europe. The Europeans became the ancestors of the Cherokees of the south eastern US. The two cultures eventually merged to become the Clovis culture throughout North America.

They also included at various time periods and with various degrees of credibility the Polynesians, Chinese, Japanese, Irish, Egyptians, Vikings (of course) etc.

I think if they could have made a case for the Martians, they would have included them.

I'm a Martian, well, half Martian. Mom sort of, got around, if you know what I mean. Actually we believe we were one of the lost Tribes of Israel.