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Photos Early American Cuisine
This would have encouraged north-to-south migration, he explained, with some groups choosing to turn and follow rivers inland. Places like the Paisley Caves in Oregon and Monte Verde in Chile are ideal locations for such settlement, he said. "We really don't know," he added, but genetic and linguistic evidence is beginning to build a fairly strong case that movement was primarily along the coast, he said. "I tend to think that, even if they came down the coastline, it is a slow process," Dillehay said. "We're just not finding all of the archaeological sites, yet." Nine species of seaweed and marine algae were recovered from hearths in the ancient settlement, about 500 miles south of Santiago and about 10 miles inland. Between 20 and 30 people appear to have lived at the site. Other food remains found there include vegetables, nuts, shellfish, an extinct species of llama and an elephant-like animal called a gomphothere. Some of the seaweed had been chewed, including two types still used by local natives for medical purposes. Other examples were burned, indicating cooking. Beach stones and other materials were also found at the inland site, Dillehay said, indicating the people at Monte Verde had a stronger coastal tradition than was previously known. Dillehay said Monte Verde was originally studied several decades ago, but the seaweed remains were only just discovered in a new analysis of recovered materials. The materials in Oregon and Chile were radiocarbon dated at 12,500 years ago which, Dillehay said, translates to between 14,200 and 14,500 calendar years ago. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, Chile's National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development, the National Geographic Society and the University of Chile. Related Links: |
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