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Radiocarbon Dates from the Ice-Free Corridor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Thomas G Arnold*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A-1S6. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

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The Ice-Free Corridor has been hypothesized as the main migration route into the Americas since the 1930s. Radiocarbon dates have been used by archaeology, geology, and palynology to date the corridor. A total of 564 14C dates ranging between 20,000 and 8000 BP from the corridor area were gleaned from the published literature. After assessing these dates for suitability, 255 were plotted over four time periods. The results indicate that the corridor was not feasible as an early human migration route until after 11,000 B P, or after the appearance of Clovis south of the continental glaciers.

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Copyright
Copyright © 2002 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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