Ancient tools found in Maryland show the first humans came to America 7,000 years earlier than previously thought, a scientist claims

The timeline for when humans first came to America is shrouded in mystery and has been pushed back thousands of years on both sides.

Now a geologist at the Smithsonian Institution believes he has discovered new evidence in Maryland that could rewrite the country’s history.

Darrin Lowery discovered 286 artifacts in the Chesapeake Bay, the oldest of which embedded in charcoal dated to more than 22,000 years old — at least 7,000 years earlier than what scientists think was when humans initially settled the Americas.

Lowery and his team have been excavating Parsons Island for more than a decade, finding ancient stone tools in layers of sediment dated by studying preserved pollen and microfossils.

The leading theory of ‘The Great Migration’ is that people crossed the border from Asia about 15,000 years ago, then crossed the Bering Strait Bridge and then traveled to the US.

The path of their journey is believed to point south, as scientists have uncovered stone projectile points, known as Clovis points, that show the way.

The idea stems from genetic studies of Native American ancestors, but the latest evidence was based on man-made tools that Lowery believes makes Maryland a Clovis Point.

Lowery told the Washingtonpost that he has been exploring the 78-hectare island since he was nine years old when he first found ancient flint tools while walking along the coastline.

He and his team discovered the first evidence of ancient humans in 2013 when they discovered a leaf-shaped prehistoric stone tool protruding from a cliff.

The tools were discovered in a dark layer as low as Lowery’s knees, which turned out to be more than 20,000 years old sediment.

Then the geologists returned to inspect the island 93 more times and discovered the treasure trove of tools.

Sediment samples were then sent to laboratories for analysis, allowing researchers to create a geological timeline, according to a manuscript posted by Lowery.

Lowery said the tools were found in dates up to the ‘last ice age maximum’ – the most recent coldest period of the ice age.

However, the claims have raised more questions, such as how early humans arrived in Maryland, were they ancestors of Native Americans, and were there many waves of migration now in America’s history?

Parsons Island is among the growing list of pre-Clovis sites, as the ‘Clovis First’ has been claimed for decades – it is said that the first humans reached the Americas about 13,000 years ago.

The problems arise from being able to accurately date sites, because sediment shifts over time and can push layers deeper, making them appear older than they really are.

Then there are the artifacts, which could be said to be made by human hands, but which have been weathered by natural elements.

However, Lowery said his methods used several labs to determine the dates of the ancient tools found in Maryland.

While the discoveries would shift the timeline, other evidence in New Mexico dates the first humans to appear between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago.

British and American archaeologists discovered the prints in soft mud adjacent to Alkali Flat, a dry bottom in White Sands National Park in southern New Mexico.

Using radiocarbon dating of seed layers above and below the tracks, experts from the US Geological Survey dated the footprints to a period of at least 2,000 years.

The oldest traces date from about 23,000 years ago, a period corresponding to the Last Glacial Maximum, when ice sheets covered much of North America and sea levels were about 400 feet lower than today.