A new settlement has been discovered by researchers from the Hakai Institute, University of Victoria and local First Nations members, and it changes everything scientists thought they knew about early civilization in North America. The 14,000-year-old village contains artifacts that date all the way back to the Ice Age and is believed to be one of the oldest human settlements ever uncovered in North America. It’s even suspected to be older than the Giza pyramids!
As IFL Science reports, the discovery lines up with the oral history of the Heiltsuk Nation. For generations, stories have been handed down that tell of an ancient coastal village. William Houston of Heiltsuk Nation told CTV News Vancouver Island:
“To think about how these stories survived all of that, only to be supported by this archaeological evidence is just amazing.”
Artifacts from the village were discovered on Triquet Island, approximately 310 miles northwest of Victoria, Canada. Fish hooks, spears, and tools to ignite fire were found. The ancient village may have been discovered last year, but only now are researchers asserting that a massive human migration occurred along British Columbia’s coastline, relays The Independent.
Archeologists once believed humans arrived in North America via a land bridge between Russia and Alaska, continuing to migrate on foot. Now, however, archaeologists suspect people moved down the coast, possibly in boats. In the event both occurred, it is likely the coastal route came before the inland route.
Commented University of Victoria PhD student, Alisha Gauvreau, who was part of the excavation:
“I remember when we get [sic] the dates back and we just kind of sat there going, holy moly, this is old. What this is doing is just changing our idea of the way in which North America was first peopled.”
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