There is a never-ending debate regarding the first species to set foot on the planet and history books have been a little force to reckon within proving various claims. Apparently, America was a no exemption to disputes but a recent study conducted by a team of scientists revealed that Neanderthals, not humans, were the first Americans settlers stepped in the region.
The most accepted evidence published testifying the existence of people in the continent is believed to have been discovered 15 000 years ago. As per reports from New York Times, a new research published in the journal Nature supported the idea that Neanderthals, not humans, were the first American settlers to reach the continent as fossil bones of a mastodon were excavated at a coastal site in San Diego, California.
Based on the Newscientist, archaeologists led to the conclusion that Neanderthals, not humans, were the first Americans settlers after mastodon bone fossils were actually skeletons with fragments of bones and teeth that were smashed and broken. Experts further discussed that these smashed bones cannot be broken apart by just animals, so early humans may be responsible for this as they made built tools and raw materials.
These found fossils could not make any sense until the research team tested the age of the fossils using the uranium-thorium isotope, which resulted in findings that these bones aged 131 000 years. Team member Richard Fullagar quickly noted that these could be from Denisovans or what is commonly known as Neanderthals. From the results, the team arrived at a consensus conclusion that Neanderthals, not humans, were the first American settlers, who traveled from Siberia to North America using land bridges.
As expected, the recent findings that Neanderthals, not humans, were the first American settlers in the continent, had received mixed reactions from other archaeologists with some raising their eyebrows about the result. Vance Holliday, an archaeologist from the University of Arizona, questioned that shreds of evidence only showed that fossils "could have been broken by humans," not "could only be broken by humans."
