Bear Fossils Hint at Much Earlier Human Presence in Americas

For years, paleontologists have believed that ice blockedoverland migration from Asia to the Americas until 13,000years ago. As a result, the profession has routinely ignoredevidence of a human presence in the Americas prior to thisdate, no matter how compelling.

Now brown bear fossils in Canada reveal that migration waspossible at least 25,000 years ago, long before the Berengialand bridge was supposedly open. The fossil fragments werefound in Alberta, Canada, and dated to a much earlier erathan has previously been thought possible. Previously,35,000 year old brown bear fossils have been found inBerengia itself (now submerged between Alaska and Siberia),but nothing older than 13,000 years had been found south ofthe land bridge itself.

For this reason, scientists had assumed that ice wasblocking the route south until that time. That theory hasnow been disproved.

The presence of brown bear fossils in Canada from 25,000years ago means that human could have made the journey, too.This would explain some of the ?anomalous? early human sitesthat have been found in the Americas, but largely ignored asbeing impossible. Now that data must be revisited.

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