Shillito Lisa-Marie, Whelton Helen L, Blong John C, Jenkins Dennis L, Connolly Thomas J, Bull Ian D
School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Armstrong Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.
Sci Adv. 2020 Jul 15;6(29):eaba6404. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aba6404. eCollection 2020 Jul.
When and how people first settled in the Americas is an ongoing area of research and debate. The earliest sites typically only contain lithic artifacts that cannot be directly dated. The lack of human skeletal remains in these early contexts means that alternative sources of evidence are needed. Coprolites, and the DNA contained within them, are one such source, but unresolved issues concerning ancient DNA taphonomy and potential for contamination make this approach problematic. Here, we use fecal lipid biomarkers to demonstrate unequivocally that three coprolites dated to pre-Clovis are human, raise questions over the reliance on DNA methods, and present a new radiocarbon date on basketry further supporting pre-Clovis human occupation.
人类最早何时以及如何在美洲定居，是一个仍在进行研究和辩论的领域。最早的遗址通常只包含无法直接测定年代的石器文物。在这些早期环境中缺乏人类骨骼遗骸，这意味着需要其他证据来源。粪化石及其所含的DNA就是这样一种来源，但有关古代DNA埋藏学和污染可能性的未解决问题，使得这种方法存在问题。在这里，我们使用粪便脂质生物标志物明确证明，三块可追溯到克洛维斯时代之前的粪化石是人类的，对依赖DNA方法提出了质疑，并给出了一个关于篮子的新放射性碳年代，进一步支持了克洛维斯时代之前人类在此居住的观点。
