Evidence from USC's Topper site, an archaeological excavation in Allendale County, is changing the way many archaeologists look at North America.
For many years, archaeologists thought the first people to settle in the Americas arrived about 12,000 years ago by traveling across the Bering Land Bridge from Asia.
But the Topper excavation site, which was featured on Alan Alda's "Scientific American Frontiers" on PBS, provided recent findings that might suggest humans arrived well before these Paleo-Indians, possibly as far back as 25,000 years ago.
Albert C. Goodyear, director of the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, said in a news release, "If, in fact, these newly discovered sites date back to 25,000 years, which they could, we won't stop hearing about it for another 10 years."
Goodyear found prehistoric artifacts at Topper in 1998 that first led scientists to question when man first arrived on the continent, placing the migration at least 10,000 years earlier than previously believed. Goodyear's discovery proved man was living in South Carolina 16,000 years ago.
Then, in May, Goodyear found what might have been a fire hearth, a discovery that would push the timeline back another 10,000 years. However, scientists can't be sure of this until they finish testing soil from the site to date it properly.
"This has put us with both feet into the issue of how and when our species radiated out from the old world. The very idea that humans could have gotten here before the Paleo-Indians 12,000 years ago is like saying we've found life in outer space. It's so contrary to the last 75 years of research." Goodyear said in the news release.
Meg Gaillard, a second-year journalism student who plans to double major in archeology, said, "These recent findings have made Topper even more fascinating. It is just amazing how the theories of human evolution, movement around the world, and patterns of learning have changed with every new and great discovery. I cannot wait to learn more about the new Topper findings, and see how they influence future teachings."
S.C. ETV will rebroadcast "They Were Here: Ice Age Humans in South Carolina," its original documentary, from 7 to 8 p.m. tonight.
Topper invited broadcast and print media to interview experts and explore the site July 22. The group includes scientists from the Smithsonian Institute, Texas A&M and Stafford Laboratories in Boulder, Colo. They will be guided through the site from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For directions to the Topper site, contact Peggy Binette at 777-5400.
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