Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 3 hrs ago
Debate over Monte Verde reopens questions about the first Americans
Monte Verde is an archaeological site in southern Chile, near the Chinchihuapi Creek.
Researchers have excavated it on and off since 1977.
The site has long been presented as the oldest evidence of people in the Americas with clear signs of human activity and reliable dating.
That evidence suggested people reached the Americas thousands of years earlier than once thought.
The timing of the first arrival remains disputed, though major settlement waves appear to have occurred between 20,000 and 13,000 years ago.
This year, arguments challenging Monte Verde’s archaeological evidence have brought the debate back.
The dispute matters because it could change what we know about when people first lived in the Americas.
Monte Verde in southern Chile has returned to the centre of a debate about when people first reached the Americas.
The site has long been presented as the oldest evidence of human activity in the Americas with reliable dating.
New questions about its archaeological evidence have reopened controversy over the site’s significance.
The debate concerns who the first people in the Americas were and when they arrived.
- Who
- Archaeologists debating the evidence at Monte Verde. The article names Tom Dillehay as a prominent excavator.
- What
- The archaeological data at Monte Verde is being challenged, reopening debate about the first Americans.
- When
- The controversy returned in 2026, according to the article.
- Where
- Monte Verde, in southern Chile, along Chinchihuapi Creek.
- Why
- The site has been used as evidence that people entered the Americas thousands of years earlier than previously thought.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Archaeologists began excavating Monte Verde on and off.
Tom Dillehay and colleagues published a study about the site.
The controversy over Monte Verde returned.
- Location
- Southern Chile, along Chinchihuapi Creek
- Excavations began
- 1977
- Sites excavated
- Monte Verde I and Monte Verde II
- Early dating
- Charcoal from Monte Verde I was dated to 33,000 years ago, a claim that has never been widely accepted
- Main settlement waves
- 20,000 to 13,000 years ago
Sources
Related news
Fossil study suggests animal life may be 200 million years older
Study finds honey bee stingers pump venom with two saw-like parts
Low-pressure system may bring rain to Andhra Pradesh from October 15
Study finds ancient gut microbes shared by Hadza and Tsimane
A 1960 Population Model’s 2026 Doomsday Forecast Fell Behind Reality
Roman Villa Excavations Near Wrexham Reveal Earlier Activity and Later Changes
Aging-related DNA changes may help explain why large dogs die younger
Africa’s solar installations set a record as official data misses much of the growth
Elephant remains reveal a wetland and woodland habitat in ancient Israel
Northeast monsoon likely to begin over southern India within days
Hyderabad workshop discusses how to make science easier to understand
