The discoveries of UO archaeologist Dennis Jenkins at Oregon's Paisley Caves are included in a special section devoted to "America, in the Beginning" in the September-October issue of Archaeology Magazine.

The lead story focuses on a shift in the consensus of archaeologists away from the idea that Clovis culture came first. "The door has been thrown open to discussions of multiple founding populations, alternate routes, varying toolkits, and even drastically different timeframes for when people might have shown up," writes story author Nickhil Swaminathan.

Early in the story, the narrative takes readers to the Paisley Caves, where Jenkins uncovered coprolites containing human DNA and other items, including western-stemmed projectiles not associated with Clovis populations, dating to 14,300 years ago. The site, Swaminathan notes, "provokes an additional line of questioning having to do with the routes that early people might have taken to reach the Americas."

Read the full story "Destination: The Americas." In the print edition, a short sidebar presents more about the work by Jenkins.

—By Jim Barlow, Public Affairs Communications