Coupled with other pre-Clovis settlements, Cactus Hill offered strong and compelling evidence of human existence in America as early as 20,000 years ago.

Though Erlandson said he’s convinced that the Clovis people were not the first in the Americas, he acknowledged that definitive proof of a pre-Clovis coastal route may never be found: Whatever ...

14. Pedra Furada, Piauí, Brazil ; Legitimate pre-Clovis sites. 15. Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Pennsylvania. 16. Monte Verde, Llanquihue, Chile. 17. Cactus Hill, Virginia. 18. Paisley Five Mile Point ...

Other artifacts can help date the site to as early as 20,000 years ago. The Gault Site is among a dozen or so "pre-Clovis" sites in the Americas.

The US' history goes back thousands of years, thanks to a wealth of archaeological sites that give insight into the first humans in North America.

The discovery of numerous artifacts that pre-date Clovis has, over the years, required scholars to come up with different ideas about not only when people arrived in the Americas but how they got ...