小柯机器人

丹麦哥本哈根大学Eske Willerslev和墨西哥萨卡特卡斯自治大学Ciprian F. Ardelean课题组合作发现，冰河时代末期墨西哥就有人类生活的痕迹。 2020年7月22日，《自然》在线发表了这一成果。

研究人员报告了最近在墨西哥中北部高海拔地区奇基韦特洞穴进行发掘工作的结果，这些结果协同美洲之前发现的可以追溯到冰河时代末期（26,500–19,000年前）的风俗证据，将人类到达该地区的日期推迟到33,000–31,000年前。在该遗址3米深的分层序列中挖掘了约1900件人造石，这揭示了一个以前未知的石器业，并且几千年来经历的变化很小。

超过50个放射性碳元素和其发光时间提供了时间顺序记录，遗传、古环境和化学数据记录了居住者居住环境的变化。该研究结果为美洲人类的古代起始提供了新的证据，阐明了最早传播群体（早于克洛维斯文化的传播群体）的文化多样性，并开辟了新的研究方向。

据悉，美洲殖民化的起始仍是一个备受争议的话题，而且尚不清楚入侵者首次抵达的确切时间。墨西哥在美洲占据重要的地理位置，其最早的考古记录鲜为人知且研究不足。历史上，该地区一直停留在针对美国第一批人口的研究。然而，最近的研究提供了可靠的证据，表明在晚更新世和全新世早期人类存在于墨西哥西北地区、恰帕斯州高地、中部墨西哥和加勒比海海岸。

附：英文原文

Title: Evidence of human occupation in Mexico around the Last Glacial Maximum

Author: Ciprian F. Ardelean, Lorena Becerra-Valdivia, Mikkel Winther Pedersen, Jean-Luc Schwenninger, Charles G. Oviatt, Juan I. Macas-Quintero, Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales, Martin Sikora, Yam Zul E. Ocampo-Daz, Igor I. Rubio-Cisneros, Jennifer G. Watling, Vanda B. de Medeiros, Paulo E. De Oliveira, Luis Barba-Pingarn, Agustn Ortiz-Butrn, Jorge Blancas-Vzquez, Irn Rivera-Gonzlez, Corina Sols-Rosales, Mara Rodrguez-Ceja, Devlin A. Gandy, Zamara Navarro-Gutierrez, Jess J. De La Rosa-Daz, Vladimir Huerta-Arellano, Marco B. Marroqun-Fernndez, L. Martin Martnez-Riojas, Alejandro Lpez-Jimnez, Thomas Higham, Eske Willerslev

Issue&Volume: 2020-07-22

Abstract: The initial colonization of the Americas remains a highly debated topic1, and the exact timing of the first arrivals is unknown. The earliest archaeological record of Mexico—which holds a key geographical position in the Americas—is poorly known and understudied. Historically, the region has remained on the periphery of research focused on the first American populations2. However, recent investigations provide reliable evidence of a human presence in the northwest region of Mexico3,4, the Chiapas Highlands5, Central Mexico6 and the Caribbean coast7,8,9 during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs. Here we present results of recent excavations at Chiquihuite Cave—a high-altitude site in central-northern Mexico—that corroborate previous findings in the Americas10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17of cultural evidence that dates to the Last Glacial Maximum (26,500–19,000 years ago)18, and which push back dates for human dispersal to the region possibly as early as 33,000–31,000 years ago. The site yielded about 1,900 stone artefacts within a 3-m-deep stratified sequence, revealing a previously unknown lithic industry that underwent only minor changes over millennia. More than 50 radiocarbon and luminescence dates provide chronological control, and genetic, palaeoenvironmental and chemical data document the changing environments in which the occupants lived. Our results provide new evidence for the antiquity of humans in the Americas, illustrate the cultural diversity of the earliest dispersal groups (which predate those of the Clovis culture) and open new directions of research.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2509-0

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2509-0

Nature：《自然》，创刊于1869年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：69.504
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