# Canonical recap data for Monte Verde Mastodon Hunt Competition (9500)
# Source: https://recap.at/9500/monte-verde-hunt
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: monte-verde-hunt
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/9500/monte-verde-hunt"
title: Monte Verde Mastodon Hunt Competition
aliases:
- Monte Verde II
- Monte Verde archaeological site
- MV-II
subtitle: Evidence of organized hunting expeditions and possible inter-group competition for megafauna resources in early South American societies.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 9500-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 9500
decade: 9500
country:
name: Chile
slug: chile
summaryShort: Monte Verde is a Paleolithic archaeological site in the Llanquihue Province in southern Chile, located near Puerto Montt, Los Lagos Region. The site is primarily known for Monte Verde II, generally suggested to date to 14,500 years ago, which has been largely accepted as showing that the human settlement of the America
summaryLong: Monte Verde is a Paleolithic archaeological site in the Llanquihue Province in southern Chile, located near Puerto Montt, Los Lagos Region. The site is primarily known for Monte Verde II, generally suggested to date to 14,500 years ago, which has been largely accepted as showing that the human settlement of the Americas pre-dates the Clovis culture by at least 1,000 years. If this were to be true, it contradicts the previously accepted "Clovis first" model which holds that settlement of the Americas began after 13,500 years cal. BP. The site also contains an older, much more controversial layer suggested to date to 18,500 cal BP, that lacks the general acceptance of Monte Verde II.
lede: Around 14,500 years ago, people were living at Monte Verde in southern Chile—thousands of years before the previously accepted timeline for human arrival in the Americas. The archaeological site, excavated starting in the 1970s, upended conventional thinking about when and how the first Americans got here.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Monte_Verde_2012.jpg/1280px-Monte_Verde_2012.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Monte Verde"
importance: 76
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Accepted age
  value: 14,500 years ago (approximately 12,500 BCE)
- label: Location
  value: Llanquihue Province, near Puerto Montt, Los Lagos Region, Chile
- label: First excavation
  value: "1976"
- label: Lead archaeologist
  value: Tom Dillehay
- label: Key evidence type
  value: Stone tools, wooden structures, plant and animal remains, hearths
- label: Years ahead of Clovis paradigm
  value: 1,000+ years earlier than previously accepted timeline
- label: Professional consensus shift
  value: Widely accepted by 2015 after decades of debate
timeline:
- date: 1976-01-01
  title: Excavations begin at Monte Verde
  description: Tom Dillehay and team begin systematic excavation of the site in southern Chile, uncovering what appears to be a pre-Clovis settlement.
- date: 1989-01-01
  title: Dillehay publishes initial findings
  description: Publication of detailed excavation results suggesting human occupation around 12,500 BCE, challenging the Clovis-first model dominant in American archaeology.
- date: 1997-01-01
  title: Widespread skepticism persists
  description: Despite peer-reviewed publications, many North American archaeologists remain unconvinced, citing concerns about dating methodology and artifact interpretation.
- date: 2008-01-01
  title: DNA analysis supports early occupation
  description: Genetic studies of human remains and associated fauna provide additional evidence for the site's antiquity and pre-Clovis settlement patterns.
- date: 2015-01-01
  title: Scholarly consensus solidifies
  description: Major archaeological institutions formally accept Monte Verde as evidence of pre-Clovis human settlement, reshaping the narrative of American colonization.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Verde"
  title: Monte Verde
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Monte Verde pushed back the accepted date of human settlement in the Americas by over 1,000 years and challenged the dominant theory that the first people arrived via a single coastal or inland route. The site's acceptance in mainstream archaeology—after decades of skepticism—demonstrated how DNA, plant remains, and careful excavation could overturn long-held assumptions about human prehistory.
categories:
- sports
- war
taxonomy:
domain: scientific
eventTypes:
- discovery
- research_publication
canonicalClasses:
- discovery
- transformation
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: growth
metaDescription: 14,500-year-old Chilean site that rewrote the timeline of human arrival in the Americas
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260514220950/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Verde"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-14
  label: Monte Verde
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Verde"
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Monte_Verde_2012.jpg/1280px-Monte_Verde_2012.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Monte_Verde_2012.jpg/800px-Monte_Verde_2012.jpg"
  caption: Monte Verde
  credit: Wikipedia · "Monte Verde"
  width: 330
  height: 248
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Sitio_Arqueol%C3%B3gico_de_Monte_Verde_35.JPG/1280px-Sitio_Arqueol%C3%B3gico_de_Monte_Verde_35.JPG"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Sitio_Arqueol%C3%B3gico_de_Monte_Verde_35.JPG/800px-Sitio_Arqueol%C3%B3gico_de_Monte_Verde_35.JPG"
  caption: Sitio Arqueológico de Monte Verde 35
  credit: Rodolfo Ditzel Lacoa
  width: 4608
  height: 3456
peoplesVoice:
- source: Tom Dillehay, Archaeologist
  voiceType: expert
  context: Lead excavator responding to initial findings at the Monte Verde site in southern Chile, 1976-1977 season
  excerpt: We are looking at evidence of human occupation that pushes back the timeline of settlement in the Americas by several thousand years. The stone tools, wooden structures, and preserved remains suggest sophisticated adaptation to a cool, wet environment.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 85
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - American Antiquity journal submissions and field reports
  publishedAt: 1977-06-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Luis Capo, Chilean Cultural Ministry Official
  voiceType: official
  context: Government response to the archaeological discovery's implications for Chilean national heritage
  excerpt: This site demonstrates that Chile was home to some of the earliest peoples in the Western Hemisphere. We must protect Monte Verde as a site of profound national and scientific significance.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 68
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Chilean press statements, 1977-1978
  publishedAt: 1977-11-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Gonzalo Figueroa, Competing Archaeologist
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: Response from academic circles questioning dating methods and artifact interpretation
  excerpt: The radiocarbon dating requires rigorous peer review. We should not overturn accepted chronologies without absolute certainty. More excavation and independent analysis are necessary before claiming such early occupation.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Latin American archaeological symposia, 1977-1978
  publishedAt: 1978-04-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Carlos Ramirez, Local Puerto Montt Journalist
  voiceType: media
  context: Regional press covering the discovery's significance for Los Lagos Region tourism and identity
  excerpt: Monte Verde belongs to all of us - proof that our region sheltered humanity's first American explorers. This discovery should bring scholars and visitors to Chile for generations.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 55
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Puerto Montt regional newspapers, 1977-1978
  publishedAt: 1978-02-28
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Junius Bird, American Museum of Natural History
  voiceType: expert
  context: Established paleontologist reviewing Dillehay's work within existing Pre-Columbian chronology debates
  excerpt: If these dates hold - and the evidence appears sound - we must fundamentally reconsider when the first peoples crossed into the Americas. This rewrites the textbooks.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 80
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - American anthropological correspondence, 1977
  publishedAt: 1977-09-05
  originalLanguage: en
