Chilean scientists have discovered a 15,000-year-old footprint, the first sign of human presence on the American continent

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(CNN) – A team of scientists in Chile claims to have discovered a human footprint more than 15,000 years old – the oldest ever found in the Americas.

The discovery challenges the previous chronology and map of human migration in South America. According to most of the evidence available, humans would reach the Patagonian region at the southernmost tip of South America until 12,000 years ago, said Karen Moreno, l & # 39; 39, one of the co-authors of the research, CNN.

Scientists believe that the trace fossil is an impression of the bare right foot of an adult human being, said Moreno. The research was published last week in the scientific journal PLOS-ONE.

PLOS ONE

The imprint was found in 2010 on a paleoarchaeological site of the city of Osorno, in the south of the country, on the edge of the development of a town house. But it took scientists years to confirm the fossil age through carbon dating.

Scientists have been sensitized to the wealth of the region after construction workers dug to build houses and discovered hidden treasures beneath the surface.

A new wave of research has been going on since 1986 and has revealed the remains of large animals, ranging from mastodons to horses, to the paleo-lama, a larger species of lama that is now extinct.

But the old human footprint was perhaps the biggest price.

Confirm the age of the fingerprint took eight years

Moreno's colleague, Mario Pino, discovered the imprint just before Christmas 2010.

To determine the age of the footprint, the team used radiocarbon dating techniques to determine the age of wood, seeds and bones found around the site. ;footprint. They also found evidence of primitive stone tools in the area around the fossil.

They identified the species as Hominipes modernus, closely related to Homo sapiens.

Experiments on organic materials around the fingerprint have created a series of possible dates, with the average age being around 15,600 years old.

But more than eight years have passed between the discovery of the imprint and the publication of the confirmation of his age. Moreno said the team had spent this time "trying to convince our colleagues that it was a footprint".

Over time, the evidence has become undeniable, she said. "We confirmed and verified and rechecked."

Moreno said that there was "a lot of difficulty" in convincing his colleagues that it was possible that humans were in the area 3,000 years earlier than the earlier traces of the existing Clovis nomadic culture In the region.

Finally, the peer reviewers were satisfied.

The discovery rewrites the map of human migrations

Human footprints dating back 3.6 million years were discovered in Laetoli, Tanzania. In 1978, scientists discovered a series of footprints made there, where three primitive human beings would have passed through wet volcanic ash.

It took millions of years for human feet to move to the Americas. They finally crossed the Bering Strait of present-day Russia into Alaska during the last ice age.

Last year, scientists in British Columbia discovered a footprint dating back 13,000 years. But these footprints were much younger and much closer to the Bering Strait than this new Patagonian announcement.

"If we have evidence of men before that, we have to find out how they got there," said Moreno.

But much of this evidence, if it exists, is probably now at the bottom of the sea. The sea level was lower 15,000 years ago.

"Most of the evidence is under water or has been eroded by glaciers," said Moreno.

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