Who
were the First People in the New World?
1
June 2007
The
term "science" is derived from
the Latin word scientia, meaning "knowledge."
At the National Museum of Natural History
acquiring knowledge is a process dependent
upon research, often years of research.
For the first RTP lecture the interns
followed one scientist's quest to gain
knowledge about the initial colonization
of the New World through artifactual evidence.
They soon discovered that even the most
long-held, textbook reinforced scientific
theories aren't safe at the National Museum
of Natural History!
Dennis
Stanford, Curator of Archaeology, captured
the RTP interns' attention during the
first event of "Anthropology Day"
with a fascinating lecture titled, "An
Aukward Proposal: Another Possible Route
for the Peopling of the New World."
He recounted that he had spent years searching
for evidence to support the classic explanation
for the initial colonization of North
America, the "Bering Straight"
theory; the Clovis people were the first
to travel to the New World, via a land
route through Siberia. The students acknowledged
that this was the theory they learned
in school. For years, Stanford conducted
field research in the Arctic, living with
the people there and searching for artifacts,
but didn't find the key links. He yearned
to do research in Siberia, certain that
the archaeological evidence there would
further solidify the "Bering Straight"
hypothesis. However, when he finally got
the opportunity to explore Siberia, Dr.
Stanford found no evidence for a link
between the Bering Straight region artifacts
and those in North America, and quickly
came to realize that there had to be “another
possible route for the peopling of the
New World.” A recent discovery along
the Eastern coast of the U.S. redirected
his attention to some intriguing possibilities
- stone tools were found below the Clovis
layer. Could there be another possible
route for the peopling of the New World?
The theory that came to follow is now
known as the "Solutrean Solution."
Stanford
noted the strong similarities between
the stone tool technology from the Solturean
culture that inhabited France and the
Clovis tools found in the U.S. Is it possible
that seafaring technology contributed
to the spread of the Solutrean hunters,
who may have followed migrating Harp Seals
and Great Auks into North America? Would
this account for the evidence of a pre-Clovis
culture which fills the chronological
gap between the Solutrean people (17,000-22,000
BP) and the Clovis (11,000 BP)?
Stanford
encouraged students to throw out the textbook,
and long held theories, and consider the
possibilities. He welcomed skepticism
of his Solutrean Solution, passionate
about the uncertainty of science. A disturbing
question had haunted Stanford, which he
asked the students. Why have no human
remains associated with the Clovis people
been found? After a few moments of contemplation
Ben Linzmeier posed an interesting
question "Is it possible that these
people, so closely linked to the subsistence
provided by the sea, buried their dead
at sea? Therefore negating the taphonomic
process that would normally provide for
human remains in the archaeological record?”
Stanford exclaimed, "I never thought
of that! That theory is certainly worth
further consideration, and investigation."
That, indeed, is science; analyzing data
and seeking answers to your hypothesis
by opening your mind and considering all
possibilities.
-
Morgan Little
