Comments on: Nature article claims evidence of human activity in North America 131,000 years ago https://habitablezone.com/2017/04/26/nature-article-claims-evidence-of-human-activity-in-north-america-131000-years-ago/ Sun, 12 Apr 2026 08:57:23 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Robert https://habitablezone.com/2017/04/26/nature-article-claims-evidence-of-human-activity-in-north-america-131000-years-ago/#comment-39027 Robert Sun, 07 May 2017 17:41:20 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=63553#comment-39027 I wondered if this latest report could be the result of a fluke, people clinging to a tree trunk across the Pacific to wash up at (modern) California. It's thought that a lot of species in the Americas originally rafted that way across the Atlantic from Africa and Europe; why not humans? Why not the Pacific? (I should check trade winds and currents, but I'm just speculating, not authoring a paper.) And if the accident didn't transport a breeding pair, yep, dead-end, just a smear of DNA on the soil. Solitary human males tend to leave a lot of DNA smears on the ground. I think you're probing a conceptual blind spot most of us have. We think of the <i>first</i> people in a place as the founders of a population we can easily trace forward in time, as we've been able to do with the more recent human discoveries (Clovis, etc.). But sometimes Og just wanders away from the cave blind-drunk on fermented berries, and just keeps walking. Or torrential rains wash the tree to which you're clinging down the river and out to sea. Shit happens, and most of the time there's little trace of it. That's the fate of most of humanity, just a smear of DNA in the soil. I wondered if this latest report could be the result of a fluke, people clinging to a tree trunk across the Pacific to wash up at (modern) California. It’s thought that a lot of species in the Americas originally rafted that way across the Atlantic from Africa and Europe; why not humans? Why not the Pacific? (I should check trade winds and currents, but I’m just speculating, not authoring a paper.) And if the accident didn’t transport a breeding pair, yep, dead-end, just a smear of DNA on the soil.

Solitary human males tend to leave a lot of DNA smears on the ground.

I think you’re probing a conceptual blind spot most of us have. We think of the first people in a place as the founders of a population we can easily trace forward in time, as we’ve been able to do with the more recent human discoveries (Clovis, etc.).

But sometimes Og just wanders away from the cave blind-drunk on fermented berries, and just keeps walking. Or torrential rains wash the tree to which you’re clinging down the river and out to sea. Shit happens, and most of the time there’s little trace of it.

That’s the fate of most of humanity, just a smear of DNA in the soil.

]]> By: mcfly https://habitablezone.com/2017/04/26/nature-article-claims-evidence-of-human-activity-in-north-america-131000-years-ago/#comment-39026 mcfly Sun, 07 May 2017 14:29:23 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=63553#comment-39026 Makes one wonder how often--and where else--that might have happened (if at all, of course) Makes one wonder how often–and where else–that might have happened (if at all, of course)

]]> By: RL https://habitablezone.com/2017/04/26/nature-article-claims-evidence-of-human-activity-in-north-america-131000-years-ago/#comment-39012 RL Sat, 06 May 2017 02:48:51 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=63553#comment-39012 It certainly isn't my field, but I have to wonder how accurate the genetic clock really is... On a tangential topic, Most people that have family that has Oklahoma roots that go back a number of generations also have family rumors or legends that they have native American ancestry... This was true of my maternal side of my family, and is also what got Elizabeth Warren in trouble... The development of genetic ancestry testing allows this to be put to rest. My maternal uncle took a genetic ancestry test, and it showed no native American ancestry... and no real surprises. I recently had an ancestry test, and got quite a surprise... something very interesting (and probably very heartbreaking ) happened in my paternal lineage sometime around 1700-1830... 0.5% West African, with a very high confidence level. Additional comparison with extremely distant relatives in the database backs up this result. For the first time I wish my violently racist paternal grandfather were still alive, just so I could break the news to him - it would kill him. I never was particularly interested in my family tree, but now I am... there is likely an interesting story 2-3 centuries ago. It certainly isn’t my field, but I have to wonder how accurate the genetic clock really is…

On a tangential topic,
Most people that have family that has Oklahoma roots that go back a number of generations also have family rumors or legends that they have native American ancestry…

This was true of my maternal side of my family, and is also what got Elizabeth Warren in trouble…

The development of genetic ancestry testing allows this to be put to rest.

My maternal uncle took a genetic ancestry test, and it showed no native American ancestry… and no real surprises.

I recently had an ancestry test, and got quite a surprise… something very interesting (and probably very heartbreaking ) happened in my paternal lineage sometime around 1700-1830…

0.5% West African, with a very high confidence level. Additional comparison with extremely distant relatives in the database backs up this result.

For the first time I wish my violently racist paternal grandfather were still alive, just so I could break the news to him – it would kill him.

I never was particularly interested in my family tree, but now I am… there is likely an interesting story 2-3 centuries ago.

]]> By: RL https://habitablezone.com/2017/04/26/nature-article-claims-evidence-of-human-activity-in-north-america-131000-years-ago/#comment-39011 RL Sat, 06 May 2017 02:18:45 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=63553#comment-39011 The genetic evidence says native american populations arrived here ~20,000 years ago... so IF humans were in North America 131,000 years ago it appears they were a dead end... The genetic evidence says native american populations arrived here ~20,000 years ago… so IF humans were in North America 131,000 years ago it appears they were a dead end…

]]> By: mcfly https://habitablezone.com/2017/04/26/nature-article-claims-evidence-of-human-activity-in-north-america-131000-years-ago/#comment-38936 mcfly Thu, 27 Apr 2017 15:09:07 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=63553#comment-38936 <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/26/health/new-human-discovery-north-america-trnd/" rel="nofollow">Here</a> I'd guess this is welcome speculation in the North American aboriginal community. They've long held that their presense here goes back much farther than anyone anticipated. In fact, many of them claim that their ancestors didn't migrate to North America, but rather originated here. But that remains more origin myth than archaeology, and this investigation would certainly still appear to be at the "far more questions than answers" phase. Here

I’d guess this is welcome speculation in the North American aboriginal community. They’ve long held that their presense here goes back much farther than anyone anticipated. In fact, many of them claim that their ancestors didn’t migrate to North America, but rather originated here.

But that remains more origin myth than archaeology, and this investigation would certainly still appear to be at the “far more questions than answers” phase.

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