Background
In 1975 father and son Juan and Sergio Barria, found a tooth from a Mastodon, an extinct elephant, at there property in Monte Verde, near the Pacific Coast in South-Chile. They contacted the Universidad Austral de Chile, and the American-born anthropologist Tom Dillehay​ came to the site. Dillehay confirmed the origin of the tooth and then started digging for more bones with the geologists Mario Pino. They suddenly came down on fireplaces, tools and more bones, which were dated to around 14.500 years, or 1000 years older than the Clovis sites. They also found three footprints by a child. 14.500 years ago the land bridge over the Bering Strait was newly formed, and unlikely that the human came over it so soon. That's why the Monte Verde-people is thought to have come to Monte Verde by a boat along the coastline of America from Asia.
​
Status today
From the discovery of the site until 1997 scientists did not accept this theory. In 1997 12 scientists went over the datas acquired and agreed the age dating. Monte Verde is not the only place in America were remains older that the Clovis culture have been found. In Rockshelter in Pennsylvania, Cactus Hill in Virginia and in Kenosha, Wisconsin remaines have been found. Today this theory is very popular by scientists and large majority of scientists consider the remains in Monte Verde prove that the Clovis people was not the first humans in America.
​​