Radiocarbon dating indicates that people at Cooper's Ferry in western Idaho were making tools and butchering animals between 15,000 and 16,000 years ago.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by peer-reviewed publication in Science and corroborated by multiple independent science journalism outlets (Smithsonian, Oregon State University press release, Science News). [tier=gold indep_score=0.9 clusters=4 claim_tier=exceptional]
Sources
- 15,000-year-old Idaho archaeology site now among America's oldest (seed:history_and_archaeology)
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aax9830 (corroboration)
- https://www.science.org/content/article/first-people-americas-came-sea-ancient-tools-unearthed-idaho-river-suggest (corroboration)
- https://www.sci.news/archaeology/coopers-ferry-tools-07546.html (corroboration)
- https://news.oregonstate.edu/news/new-artifacts-suggest-first-people-arrived-north-america-earlier-previously-thought (corroboration)
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/idaho-site-shows-humans-were-north-america-16000-years-ago-180973024/ (corroboration)