Location: Virginia Length: 28 min
Recent excavations at a number of sites, including Cactus Hill located along the Nottoway River in southwest Virginia, have provided new evidence and raised new questions about when people ventured into the Americas. For many years, archaeologists thought that people arrived approximately 11,500 years ago. However, stone artifacts, charcoal, and soil, plant and animal remains suggest human habitation at Cactus Hill at least 18,000 years ago, when much of the continent was under ice.
Produced in 2008 by the Prince William Network.
Copyright 2008 by Prince William Network
Web links:
Ice Age Discoveries (Prince William Network)
Models of Migration to the New World (Wikipedia)
Pre-Clovis Occupation on the Nottoway River in Virginia (Athena Review)
Prince William County Public Schools
Proven: Man in America by 15,000 B.C. (The Japan Times)