Humans have settled the Americas much older than we think ... How did the indigenous people descend across the islands of Australia and East Asia?

A new, unique archaeological discovery demonstrated the arrival of humans in the Americas at least 11,000 years earlier than previously thought, something that would rewrite human history on the continent and significantly alter our understanding of the world in prehistoric times.

The new research reveals that Native Americans in antiquity lived in Mexico, and it is also assumed that they lived in parts of the rest of North America, from a period of no less than 30,000 years BC onwards.

This discovery, located in a remote cave in the state of Zacatecas in Mexico, is very important and represents one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the world in recent decades, and opens the way for questions such as how did these people reach the new world, where did they come from, and how was their ancient journey?

In his report published by the British newspaper "The Independent", the writer David Keys said that the cave found in Mexico indicates that the colonization of the continent occurred for the first time 30 thousand years BC, noting that the history of the earliest proven colonization of the continent dates back to About 19 thousand years BC.

Ancient excavations

The writer mentioned that the large excavations inside the cave revealed about two thousand stone artifacts dating back between 30 thousand years and 11 thousand years BC, among which about 12 pieces dating back to between 30 thousand to 24 thousand years BC, which is the oldest stage Time for the archaeological site.

The most recent artifacts along the lines of stone knives, scrapers, blades, and carving and engraving tools dating back to between 24,000 years to 11,000 years BC are also important, especially since the history of some of the pieces precedes the generally accepted date yet for the initial reconstruction of the Americas.

Older than we thought

According to Professor Tom Hegham, who is in charge of the Radiocarbon History Unit at Oxford University, who is considered one of the most prominent archaeologists involved in the project, the discovery of the reconstruction of the continent more than 30,000 years ago raises a set of key new questions about the origin of these people, how they lived, how widespread and their destiny is in End.

The author noted that the research, published on July 22 in the journal Nature, was conducted by a team of archaeologists and other scholars from Mexico, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the United States, Brazil, and Australia.

Based on these data, the period of time for the reconstruction of the Americas has been largely defined as much older than we think, and archaeologists in both North and South America are likely to redouble their efforts to find additional sites dating back to very ancient times.

It is almost certain that the newly discovered stone artifacts were made by nomadic or semi-nomadic fishermen who were believed to have traveled over vast tracts of land in parts of Mexico and the United States over countless generations.

And after archaeologists now know that a small group of people was active at the site of the cave, it is inconceivable that they would represent the only human group found in the Americas during that time.

Who are the oldest Americans?

This discovery raises three important questions: Who are these first Americans who have recently discovered their impact, when did their ancestors enter the new world, and how?

Since there is no human remains and no human DNA has yet been discovered on the site, their origin can not be known specifically from the ethnic and genetic levels.

The author pointed out that most of the Native Americans in both North and South America are mainly descended from the same ancient peoples from which most Chinese, Japanese, and other East Asians descend.

But recent genetic research into the origins of Native Americans suggests that the Native Americans in the Americas may have been a different group of people partly associated with the indigenous people of Australia today, i.e. Papua New Guinea, Andaman Islands, and the Mamoan people from the Philippines.

In prehistoric times, the peoples related to Melanesians (the ancestors of the modern indigenous people of Australia, Papua New Guinea, etc.) seem to have flourished over large areas of eastern and southeastern Asia. So it is possible that the first newly discovered Americans could be partly linked to the ancestors of modern day Aborigines, the Papua, etc., according to the British newspaper report.

When and how did they enter the new world?

The genetic footprint of the early Melanesians remains a small element compared to the genomes of many of the indigenous Indo-American groups in the Amazon basin.

The only genetic evidence for this association comes from the Amazon (five very old skeletons each at least 10,000 years old).

Not all of the ancient DNA evidence from Native American skeletons shows any relationship with Melanesians, but mainly genetic bonds with only the present East Asian population.

In Asia, Australia, and other regions, the ancient Proto-Milanese DNA evidence comes from a 40,000-year-old skeleton found in northern China, while the newly discovered Mexican site dates back to 30,000 BC, which means that these early Americans arrived at a time Too early to their new world before that date.

How did they get there?

They almost certainly did not arrive by traveling across the Pacific, but they may have traveled at least part of the journey by sea (perhaps in ancient kayaks) by traveling between islands, over many generations, from China or even from Southeast Asia along dozens of islands that extend in a large arc between the Philippines and Alaska (the longest cruise would have been 120 miles).

After reaching Alaska, their grandchildren could travel at least partially by sea along the west coast of North America to California and Mexico.

The writer explained that the complex marine navigation initiated by humans started in Melanesia and other Asian islands and this is not surprising, given that the area located directly in the south and east of the Asian mainland includes the largest group of islands in the world.

About 60,000 years ago, the early Melanesians made a 40-mile cruise from islands such as Sulawesi and Timor to New Guinea / Australia, bringing the indigenous people of Australian origin, according to the British newspaper report.

About 30,000 years ago, the first Melanesians traveled 100 miles from New Guinea to Solomon Islands - and 32,000 years ago, the first sailors traveled between islands 300 miles to Okinawa - from Taiwan or Japan.

Subsequently, the inhabitants of that region of the Asian islands were the first to undertake major explorations across the world's oceans (across the Indian Ocean, in a series of excursions, and across the Pacific).

The author pointed out that it is not yet possible to know whether the Native Americans, who lived in the cave in central Mexico, were among the first generations of people who lived in their new world.

The writer mentioned that the cave itself was an ideal base for hunting, and is considered a safe area for its residents, as it cannot be seen easily from afar.

In prehistoric times, the surrounding landscape was covered with huge pine trees and fresh water was available close to the cave, and the temperature inside it (and still is) remarkably stable throughout the year, regardless of weather outside.

This discovery raises the interesting possibility that our human race first arrived in the Americas around the same time that they arrived in Britain and the rest of Western Europe.

Until now, it was generally believed that the Americas were colonized for the first time by humans after 20,000 or 40,000 years, a belief that should be eliminated and history rewritten again.