Vorkosigan

<a href="http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1528019" target="_blank">Here it is</a>

The bones -- a skull, two vertebrae and part of a jaw with some teeth -- may date back 11,000 years or more, according to preliminary analysis that included radiocarbon dating at the University of Arizona.

mibby529

Well, Indians have always pointed out that the Bering Strait is based entirely on Genesis, and therefore YEC AT BEST. Of course, academics copied it, rather than do original research. (Just about every paper I've read is 90% derivative of other papers and 10% derivative of personal experience.)

A lot of Indians have come up with reasons not to believe it - beyond the obvious "it's creationism."

The Lone Ranger

I'm not entirely certain what you mean here.

Certainly, there's a great deal of anthropological and archaeological evidence that the ancestors of the Native Americans migrated to North (and eventually) South American from Asia across the Bering Land Bridge. The exact times of these migrations is certainly debatable, but I've never heard of any evidence which suggests that any humans inhabited the New World prior to 20,000 years ago.

More specifically, there were apparently (at least) three major migrations. These migrations established the AmerIndian, Na-Dene, and Eskimo (Inuit) peoples. Genetic studies of all three Native American groups show conclusively that they're closely related to the peoples of central and eastern Asia.

Cheers,

Michael

RufusAtticus

Well there are a few skeletons that have been found in America that indicate that there might have been an earlier fourth migration from a different stock than the latter ones. However, NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) makes it almost impossible to study them.

~~RvFvS~~

Lizard

Yes, I gather that if scientists discovered that the people we call Native Americans were actually not the original inhabitants of what is now the U.S., all the treaties the government made with them would be thrown into question. From what little the scientists have been able to observe about the skull, it appears not to be of the same lineage as current Native Americans.

The other major issue is that the Native Americans' cultural heritage would be severely shaken, since their oral history says they are the original human inhabitants.

Question: What if somehow we found out that long before the primitive trilobytes, before the one-celled organisms, there was a mass extinction, and before that, there was a thriving, intelligent society of beings on earth? Imagine what that would do to religious and cultural foundations.

beausoleil

Not to mention property rights. Seriously, this...

"Yes, I gather that if scientists discovered that the people we call Native Americans were actually not the original inhabitants of what is now the U.S., all the treaties the government made with them would be thrown into question."

sounds like rubbish to me. But tell us more. If true, I wonder how the Louisiana purchase would be affected

Albion

Oh, good grief, would you all end up becoming British again?

Richiyaado

[ August 28, 2002: Message edited by: Richiyaado ]</p>

Jesus Tap-Dancin' Christ

Not that we ever honored them until recently.

Vorkosigan

The Mammoth Trumpet

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is the official publication of the Center for the First Americans, and contains the latest on pre-Clovis discoveries, information and news.