Open AccessThe age of the opening of the Ice-Free Corridor and implications for the peopling of the Americas
Author(s) -
Jorie Clark,
Anders E. Carlson,
Alberto V. Reyes,
Elizabeth C.B. Carlson,
Louise Guillaume,
Glenn A. Milne,
Lev Tarasov,
Marc W. Caffee,
Klaus M. Wilcken,
Dylan H. Rood
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2118558119
Subject(s) - archaeology , geography , paleoanthropology , physical geography , geology
Significance The Ice-Free Corridor (IFC) has long played a key role in hypotheses about the peopling of the Americas. Earlier assessments of its age suggested that the IFC was available for a Clovis-first migration, but subsequent developments now suggest a pre-Clovis occupation of the Americas that occurred before the opening of the IFC, thus supporting a Pacific coastal migration route instead. However, large uncertainties in existing ages from the IFC cannot preclude its availability as a route for the first migrations. Resolving this debate over migration route is important for addressing the questions of when and how the first Americans arrived. We report cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages that show that the final opening of the IFC occurred well after pre-Clovis occupation.