Abstract

The advent of early humans in the New World has, for many years, assumed a route was available, likely through Alberta, at some time during, or just after, die Wisconsinan glacial stage. The notion dovetailed with the mounting evidence for habitation sites of that age in the contiguous United States. However, much was said and written without direct references to the evidence on the ground and in the ground of Alberta. In the last 9 years, over 70 dates exceeding 9000 y BP have been run for the Provincial Museum on animal bones and wood from paleontological sites across the province. These dates bracket a gaping hiatus from around 22,000 to 11,600 y BR. Big game hunters from Asia were absent from the region because conditions in the alleged 'ice-free' or 'western' corridor were unsuitable even for big game. The demonstrable explanation is extensive late Wisconsinan glaciation. The 'First Albertans' so far discovered postdate the earliest postglacial bone dates by about 1000 y, but mounting evidence for a single glaciation in Alberta (=Late Wisconsinan) also suggests that the field was open for many millennia before glacial onset around 22,000 y BP. So, when was the New World occupied, and by what route? The search continues.