About this episode

This episode discusses new research suggesting Monte Verde may be younger than previously believed, impacting the understanding of pre-Clovis human presence in the Americas.

For decades, Monte Verde in southern Chile has been one of the most famous archaeological sites in the Americas. The site was widely accepted as 14,500 years old, making it one of the strongest pieces of evidence for human presence in the Americas before Clovis. But what if that interpretation was wrong? In this special episode, I sit down with Dr. Todd Surovell, professor of anthropology at the University of Wyoming, to discuss new research that re-examines Monte Verde using modern geoarchaeological methods. The results suggest that the famous site may actually be much younger than previously believed, dating to the Holocene rather than the Ice Age. If true, this would mean that Monte Verde is not evidence for pre-Clovis humans in South America, and it could force archaeologists to reconsider one of the most influential discoveries in American archaeology.

People in this episode

Host: David Ian Howe

Guest: Dr. Todd Surovell

Topics covered

• archaeology
• Monte Verde
• Clovis
• geoarchaeology
• human presence
• South America

Keywords

• Monte Verde
• Dr. Todd Surovell
• archaeology
• Clovis
• geoarchaeology
• human presence
• South America
• Holocene
• Ice Age

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Wyoming

Places: Monte Verde, Chile

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