Geoarchaeologist can comment on 130,000-year-old site in Southern California


Wed, 04/26/2017

author

George Diepenbrock

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas researcher is available to comment on findings published today in the prestigious journal Nature that purport to establish the oldest well-documented archaeological site in North America at 130,000 years old.

The study's lead author, Steven Holen, who directs the Center for American Paleolithic Research in South Dakota, and a co-author, Jared Beeton, of Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado, earned their doctorates from KU.

Rolfe Mandel, KU distinguished professor of anthropology and interim director of the Kansas Geological Survey, is available to discuss the new study's findings of the site in San Diego County in Southern California. A geoarchaeologist who has spent more than 30 years working on projects around the world, Mandel leads KU's endowed Odyssey Archaeological Research Fund, which gives KU undergraduate and graduate students field experience in finding evidence for the peopling of the Great Plains.

Both Holen and Beeton participated in the Odyssey program.

The Kansas Geological Survey also conducted laboratory analysis of soil samples collected at the Southern California site documented in the Nature article.

"Holen and his colleagues are substantially revising the timing of the arrival of humans in the Americas," Mandel said. "Their paper on the Cerutti Mastodon site is going to generate a tremendous amount of controversy."

To arrange an interview with Mandel, contact George Diepenbrock at 785-864-8853 or gdiepenbrock@ku.edu.

Wed, 04/26/2017

author

George Diepenbrock

Media Contacts

George Diepenbrock

KU News Service

785-864-8853