BREAKING: Ancient humans may have reached Americas 100,000 years earlier than thought, scientists say in controversial study

Having trouble viewing this email? | View it in your browser   Most genetic and archaeological evidence shows humans first entered the Americas some 15,000 years ago. But a study nearly 25 years in the making in this week's "Nature" journal finds that the 130,000-year-old bones of a mastodon, an extinct relative of the mammoth, unearthed in California were split open with blows from rocks. Rocks discovered near the bones bear the hallmarks of use as hammers, the scientists report. The smashed bones may have been the handiwork of a Neanderthal, the scientists say, or the more ancient human relative called Homo erectus, or even our own species, Homo sapiens. Experts not involved in the study, however, question the claim, in part because of the total lack of other evidence of a human presence so long ago. FOR MORE ON THIS STORY, GO TO:   USATODAY.COM     Help | Advertise | Home Delivery | Privacy Policy - Your California Privacy Rights     © 2017 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22108