Monte Verde

Monte Verde
	View of Monte Verde and Chinchihuapi Creek in 2012
	Shown within Chile
Location	Southern Chile
Coordinates	41°30′17″S 73°12′16″W / 41.50472°S 73.20444°W
Type	open-air

Monte Verde is a Paleolithic archaeological site in the Llanquihue Province^[1] in southern Chile, located near Puerto Montt, Los Lagos Region. The site is primarily known for Monte Verde II, dating to approximately 14,550-14,500 calibrated years Before Present (BP).^[2] The Monte Verde II site has been considered key evidence showing that the human settlement of the Americas pre-dates the Clovis culture by at least 1,000 years. This contradicts the previously accepted "Clovis first" model which holds that settlement of the Americas began after 13,500 cal BP. The Monte Verde findings were initially dismissed by most of the scientific community, but the evidence then became more accepted in archaeological circles.^[3]^[4] The site also contains an older, much more controversial layer (Monte Verde I) suggested to date to 18,500 cal BP (16,500 BC), that lacks the general acceptance of Monte Verde II.^[5]^[3]

Monte Verde II represents a campsite with wooden tent-like structures that was later covered by a bog, sealing the site under a layer of anerobic peat. The occupants of the site made rope and utilized animal skins, and consumed a variety of plant foods, including seaweed (despite the site being 60 kilometres (37 mi) from the ocean at the time), tubers, seeds, fruits and nuts. Remains at the site show that the occupants also butchered now extinct megafauna, including the gomphothere (elephant-relative) Notiomastodon and the llama Palaeolama.^[2]

Paleoecological evidence of the coastal landscape's ability to sustain human life further supports a "coastal migration" model.^[6] Dating of rock surfaces and animal bones suggests the coastal corridor was deglaciated and became habitable after 17,000 years BP.^[7] Although testing coastal migration theories can be difficult due to sea level rise since the Last Glacial Maximum, archaeologists are increasingly willing to accept the possibility that the initial settlement of the Americas occurred via coastlines.^[8]^[9]

^ Steeves, Paulette F. C. (2021). The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 145–147. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1s5nzn7.17. ISBN 978-1-4962-0217-8. JSTOR j.ctv1s5nzn7. S2CID 240661286.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b "Monte Verde Archaeological Site". Tentative List of Properties of Outstanding Universal Value. World Heritage - United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
^ "Ancient seaweed chews confirm age of Chilean site". Reuters. 2008-05-08.
^ Dillehay, Tom D.; Ocampo, Carlos (November 18, 2015). "New Archaeological Evidence for an Early Human Presence at Monte Verde, Chile". PLOS One. 10 (11): e0141923. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1041923D. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141923. PMC 4651426. PMID 26580202.
^ Mandryk, C. A. S.; Josenhans, H.; Fedje, D. W.; Mathewes, R. W. (2001). "Late Quaternary paleoenvironments of Northwestern North America: Implications for inland versus coastal migration routes". Quaternary Science Reviews. 20 (1–3): 301–314. Bibcode:2001QSRv...20..301M. doi:10.1016/S0277-3791(00)00115-3.
^ Lesnek, A. J.; Briner, J. P.; Lindqvist, C.; Baichtal, J. F.; Heaton, T. H. (2018). "Deglaciation of the Pacific coastal corridor directly preceded the human colonization of the Americas". Science Advances. 4 (5): eaar5040. Bibcode:2018SciA....4.5040L. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aar5040. PMC 5976267. PMID 29854947.
^ Braje, Todd J.; Dillehay, Tom D.; Erlandson, Jon M.; Klein, Richard G.; Rick, Torben C. (2017-11-03). "Finding the first Americans". Science. 358 (6363): 592–594. Bibcode:2017Sci...358..592B. doi:10.1126/science.aao5473. ISSN 1095-9203. PMID 29097536. S2CID 206663671.
^ Wade, Lizzie (2017-08-08). "Most archaeologists think the first Americans arrived by boat. Now, they're beginning to prove it". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 2018-12-14.

[:0-1] Steeves, Paulette F. C. (2021). The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 145–147. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1s5nzn7.17. ISBN 978-1-4962-0217-8. JSTOR j.ctv1s5nzn7. S2CID 240661286.

[:3-2] Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[UNESCO-3] "Monte Verde Archaeological Site". Tentative List of Properties of Outstanding Universal Value. World Heritage - United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 1 November 2010.

[4] "Ancient seaweed chews confirm age of Chilean site". Reuters. 2008-05-08.

[Dillehay_2015-5] Dillehay, Tom D.; Ocampo, Carlos (November 18, 2015). "New Archaeological Evidence for an Early Human Presence at Monte Verde, Chile". PLOS One. 10 (11): e0141923. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1041923D. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141923. PMC 4651426. PMID 26580202.

[6] Mandryk, C. A. S.; Josenhans, H.; Fedje, D. W.; Mathewes, R. W. (2001). "Late Quaternary paleoenvironments of Northwestern North America: Implications for inland versus coastal migration routes". Quaternary Science Reviews. 20 (1–3): 301–314. Bibcode:2001QSRv...20..301M. doi:10.1016/S0277-3791(00)00115-3.

[Lesnek2018-7] Lesnek, A. J.; Briner, J. P.; Lindqvist, C.; Baichtal, J. F.; Heaton, T. H. (2018). "Deglaciation of the Pacific coastal corridor directly preceded the human colonization of the Americas". Science Advances. 4 (5): eaar5040. Bibcode:2018SciA....4.5040L. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aar5040. PMC 5976267. PMID 29854947.

[8] Braje, Todd J.; Dillehay, Tom D.; Erlandson, Jon M.; Klein, Richard G.; Rick, Torben C. (2017-11-03). "Finding the first Americans". Science. 358 (6363): 592–594. Bibcode:2017Sci...358..592B. doi:10.1126/science.aao5473. ISSN 1095-9203. PMID 29097536. S2CID 206663671.

[9] Wade, Lizzie (2017-08-08). "Most archaeologists think the first Americans arrived by boat. Now, they're beginning to prove it". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 2018-12-14.

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