DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites

New evidence establishes the earliest date where people lived in North America. 14,000 year old Coprolites, fossilize doodoo, was recently discovered in the Paisley Caves in the Cascade Range of Oregon. From the New York Times article reporting on the new findings…

the specimens preserved 14,000-year-old human protein and DNA, which the discoverers said was the strongest evidence yet of the earliest people living in North America.

No other artifacts where found in the Paisley Caves, so archaeologist know little of the people who left their mark.

Prior to these finding, the earliest archaeological record supporting the presence of humans in North America was of the Clovis people. The new fossils are about 1,000 years earlier than the artifacts found in Clovis sites.