Archaeologists discover the oldest weapons ever found in North America and could rewrite history – BGR

For many years, archaeologists have agreed that humans began settling in North America about 13,000 years ago. This calendar was based on artifacts discovered from 12,700 to 13,000 years ago, including weapons. Now, a new discovery in Texas could throw that theory out the door.

Researchers from Texas A & M, Baylor University, and the University of Texas discovered what they thought were spearheads used by human hunters 15,500 years ago. The discovery far precedes the accepted timetable for colonization of North America and scientists may be forced to rethink when and where the first groups of humans entered what is now the United States .

"There is no doubt that these weapons were used at the time to hunt game in the area," said Michael Waters of Texas A & M, lead author of the paper published in Progress of science, Said in a statement. "The discovery is significant because almost all sites prior to Clovis have stone tools, but there are still spearheads. These points were found under a layer with Clovis and Folsom projectile points. Clovis is dated 13,000 to 12,700 years old and Folsom thereafter. The dream has always been to find diagnostic artifacts – such as projectile points – that can be recognized as being older than Clovis and that's what we have on Friedkin's site. "

It was thought that hunting had pushed groups of ancient peoples into new areas. At the time, the spear points could be used to hunt big game like a mammoth. However, it was not as if the settlers of the time had maps or even a vague understanding of how the continent was shaped. They would have had little knowledge of what was on the horizon as they traveled north, and they would not have moved if it was not necessary.

Keeping this in mind, it's easy to understand why it's so difficult to determine when human settlers arrived. Smaller groups may have come and gone with time and progress would have been slow. It remains to be seen whether this new discovery represents a large-scale movement in North America much earlier than previously known, or if it is only a singular exception.

Image Source: Texas A & M