DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America.

M Thomas P Gilbert, Dennis L Jenkins, Anders Götherstrom, Nuria Naveran, Juan J Sanchez, Michael Hofreiter, Philip Francis Thomsen, Jonas Binladen, Thomas F G Higham, Robert M Yohe, Robert Parr, Linda Scott Cummings, Eske Willerslev

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

303 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The timing of the first human migration into the Americas and its relation to the appearance of the Clovis technological complex in North America ca. 11-10.8 thousand radiocarbon years before present ((14)C ka B.P.) remains contentious. We establish that humans were present at Paisley 5 Mile Point Caves, south-central Oregon, by 12,300 (14)C yr. B.P., through recovery of human mtDNA from coprolites, directly dated by accelerator mass spectrometry. The mtDNA corresponds to Native American founding haplogroups A2 and B2. The dates of the coprolites are >1000 (14)C years earlier than currently accepted dates for the Clovis-complex.
Original languageEnglish
JournalScience
Volume320
Issue number5877
Pages (from-to)786 - 789
ISSN0036-8075
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008

Cite this