Human DNA was extracted from coprolites (fossilised faeces) found in caves

DNA found in Oregon rewrites the book on the first native Americans

By Steve Connor
Friday, 4 April 2008

Textbook accounts of how the Americas were first populated may have to be re-written following the discovery of the oldest DNA of prehistoric humans who lived 14,300 years ago in what is now Oregon.

Scientists said that the DNA is about 1,200 years older than the previous oldest human artifacts produced by the Clovis people.

However, the latest discovery suggests that the Clovis people were actually preceded by much earlier cultures who had lived along the west coast of North America when much of the continent was still in the grip of an ice age.

The human DNA was extracted from coprolites – fossilised faeces – found in caves near the town of Paisley in the west coast state of Oregon. Carbon dating confirmed that the material was more than 1,000 years older than the Clovis spearheads.

"We are not saying that these people were of a particular ethnic group. At this point, we know they most likely came from Siberia or Eastern Asia, and we know something about what they were eating, which is something we can learn from coprolites," Dr Jenkins said.

independent.co.uk/news/sc...ns-804542.html