Ancient Artifacts Reveal North American-Japanese Human Connection 16,560 Years Ago

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - The timeline and location of the first human habitation in North America remain subjects of ongoing research. Traditionally, it is believed that early settlers arrived via the Bering Land Bridge, a land connection between Asia and North America exposed after the last Ice Age, approximately 14,800 years ago. However, recent findings suggest an earlier presence.

Location map for the Cooper’s Ferry site. Credit:  Davis et al

Archaeologists at Cooper’s Ferry in western Idaho have uncovered new evidence pointing to earlier human activity. The team analyzed ancient remains that provide fresh insights into North America's prehistoric past. Radiocarbon dating of these samples indicates they are between 16,560 and 15,280 years old, suggesting repeated human occupation in the Columbia River basin during this period.

Cooper's Ferry Archaeology site. Credit: Davis et al

These findings challenge the long-standing theory that humans first entered North America around 13,000 years ago by traversing an ice-free corridor from Asia. Excavations conducted from 2009 to 2018 at a site measuring 23 by 43 feet revealed a collection of artifacts: 189 items, including stone tools and debris from tool production, were discovered.

Lithic tools found at the site in western Idaho. Credit: Davis et al

Scientists have uncovered seven mammal bone fragments, likely including those of an extinct horse. These bones were found surrounded by numerous stone tools near what is believed to have been a fire pit. Loren Davis, a Professor of Anthropology at Oregon State University and the lead author of the study, stated that their findings challenge the "ice-free corridor" hypothesis and strongly support the theory that early humans traveled down the Pacific Coast instead.

An Ancient Japanese Connection?

Interestingly, some tools discovered at Cooper’s Ferry resemble those found in northern Japan from a similar era, adding another layer of intrigue to this research.

“Stemmed projectile points appear throughout Africa, the Levant, and Europe after 50,000 years ago and are associated with late Pleistocene evidence of human presence along the northern Pacific Rim. In Japan and Korea, Hakuhen-Sentoki projectile points dating from 30,000 to 23,000 cal yr B.P. are made by retouching the proximal end of a thick, pointed blade. Regional variants include the Tachikawa type on Hokkaido, the Kosegawsawa type in northern Honshu near the Sea of Japan, and the Yanagimata type in central and western Honshu.

Comparison of Cooper’s Ferry projectile points with late Pleistocene age Tachikawa-type stemmed points from the Kamishirataki 2 site on Hokkaido, Japan. Credit: Davis et al

The Tachikawa type bears strong morphological similarities to the contracting margin stemmed point bases from LU3 at Cooper’s Ferry. Stemmed projectile points that are morphologically different from specimens from Cooper’s Ferry appeared at Kamchatka’s Ushki Lake site by ~13,440 to 12,640 cal yr B.P. but were absent earlier from Beringia, suggesting that their origins lie elsewhere. The age, morphology, and technology of Cooper’s Ferry LU3 artifacts share notable similarities with the nonfluted projectile point traditions dated from ~16,000 to 13,000 cal yr B.P. in Japan,” the researchers write in the study.

“So one hypothesis is simply that you’re looking at the extension culturally of people that are bringing these ideas with them from northern Japan,” Professor Davis said.

" We interpret this temporal and technological affinity to signal a cultural connection with Upper Paleolithic northeastern Asia, which complements current evidence of shared genetic heritage between late Pleistocene peoples of northern Japan and North America.

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Although these archaeological connections require further study, the contemporaneous use of stemmed projectile point technologies in northeastern Asia and North America during the late Pleistocene represents an emerging Upper Paleolithic archaeological pattern that precedes the CPT (Clovis Paleoindian tradition).

Adopting this terminology brings the earliest archaeological period of the Americas into conceptual alignment with the rest of the world and affirms the strength of observed technological connections to northeast Asia," the study concludes.

Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer