In the journal Science today, a research team led by archaeologists Tom Dillehay and Mario Pino report on the latest findings from Monte Verde, a preclovis site in Chile. In this latest report, the researchers provide evidence that the occupants of Monte Verde displayed a broad level understanding and use of a variety of seaweeds--lending support to the Pacific Coast Migration Model of the American colonization.
View of excavated Monte Verde II wishbone-shaped structure thought to be a medicinal hut and containing several masticated cuds. "Monte Verde II" refers to the upper layer of the Monte Verde site.
Photo Credit: Image courtesy of Tom D. Dillehay
Monte Verde is the site that astonished the scientific community when it was published about a decade ago, because at 14,600 cal BP, the site proved to be older than Clovis, previously thought to be the original colonists of the Americas. Monte Verde was 10,000 miles south of the theoretical point of entry to the Americas at Beringia, and exhibited a totally different lifestyle than Clovis big game hunters.
The Latest Findings at Monte Verde
This latest work reports on soil samples recovered from a couple of structures at the site, and in those samples they've identified a considerable quantity and variety of different forms of seaweed, that prove that the Monte Verdeans were there year-round and had a strong grasp of the different seaweeds available and where to find them.
Now, believe it or not, seaweed is an interesting thing to find at Monte Verde, because it seems to fit the Pacific Coast Migration model very well indeed, in that the people who lived at Monte Verde had a very detailed knowledge of seaweed. In brief, the PCM model argues that one pathway into the Americas used by the original human colonists was along the Pacific coast. Today's findings also support the version of the PCM model called the Kelp Highway Hypothesis, that the colonists followed the coastlines relying heavily on the kelp forest that is found edging the Pacific rim everywhere (except the tropics).
Seaweed and Monte Verde
Bull kelp (Durvillaea antarctica) on Rocky Shore, Otago Peninsula (New Zealand)
Photo Credit: Velela
Archaeologist Jon Erlandson, lead author of the paper on the Kelp Highway Hypothesis, commented on the Science paper:
"As you know, the presence of early people at Monte Verde (near the Pacific Coast) was instrumental in a broader acceptance of the coastal migration theory. I read the paper a few days ago and thought it was a significant piece. I'm impressed with the diversity of seaweeds they found--sort of a seaweed garnish for the 'kelp highway' hypothesis and coastal migration theory. I thought they were rightfully cautious about what this might tell us about the peopling of the Americas, but it seems to imply a deep knowledge of marine ecosystems. Many edible seaweeds were dried, traded, or stored by ethnographic peoples of the Pacific Rim."
Photo Essay of Monte Verde
View of a rocky shoreline in the inland Seno de Reloncavi Marine Estuary south of Monte Verde.
Photo Credit: Image courtesy of Mario Pino
What isn't discussed in the paper, but is on everybody's mind, is what about the earlier possible site located beneath Monte Verde's 14,000 year old occupation? Dillehay says there are plans to reopen the investigation there in a few years.
The Science paper had a number of terrific photos of the site and vicinity, and with Dillehay's permission, I've built a photo essay on the new findings.
- Dillehay, Tom D., et al. 2008 Monte Verde: Seaweed, Food, Medicine, and the Peopling of South America. Science 32(5877):0784-786.
- Balter, Michael. 2008. Ancient Algae Suggest Sea Route for First Americans. Science 320(5877):729
- Monte Verde II: A Photo Essay.
- A bibliography of Monte Verde
- The Pacific Coast Migration Model
- The Kelp Highway Hypothesis
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