TY - JOUR
T1 - Disparate Perspectives on Evidence from the Cerutti Mastodon Site
T2 - A Reply to Braje et al.
AU - Holen, Steven R.
AU - Deméré, Thomas A.
AU - Fisher, Daniel C.
AU - Fullagar, Richard
AU - Paces, James B.
AU - Jefferson, George T.
AU - Beeton, Jared M.
AU - Rountrey, Adam N.
AU - Holen, Kathleen A.
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - The Perspective editorial by Braje, T., T. D. Dillehay, J. M. Erlandson, S. M. Fitzpatrick, D. K. Grayson, V. T. Holliday, R. L. Kelly, R. G. Klein, D. J. Meltzer, and T. C. Rick (2017. “Were Hominins in California ∼130,000 Years Ago?” PaleoAmerica 3 (3): 200–202) takes issue with our argument [Holen, S. R., T. A. Deméré, D. C. Fisher, R. Fullagar, J. B. Paces, G. T. Jefferson, J. M. Beeton, et al. (2017. “A 130,000-Year-Old Archaeological Site in Southern California, USA.” Nature 544 (7651): 479–483) that the assemblage of bones and stones at the Cerutti Mastodon (CM) site implicates hominin activity in site formation 130,000 years ago. Braje et al. propose instead that features of the CM site can be better explained by geological or other causes unrelated to ancient human activity. However, we contend that their conclusion reflects an incomplete assessment of our evidence. They further propose a standard of evidence at odds with current practice in the philosophy of science, and misuse a commonly quoted aphorism that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”.
AB - The Perspective editorial by Braje, T., T. D. Dillehay, J. M. Erlandson, S. M. Fitzpatrick, D. K. Grayson, V. T. Holliday, R. L. Kelly, R. G. Klein, D. J. Meltzer, and T. C. Rick (2017. “Were Hominins in California ∼130,000 Years Ago?” PaleoAmerica 3 (3): 200–202) takes issue with our argument [Holen, S. R., T. A. Deméré, D. C. Fisher, R. Fullagar, J. B. Paces, G. T. Jefferson, J. M. Beeton, et al. (2017. “A 130,000-Year-Old Archaeological Site in Southern California, USA.” Nature 544 (7651): 479–483) that the assemblage of bones and stones at the Cerutti Mastodon (CM) site implicates hominin activity in site formation 130,000 years ago. Braje et al. propose instead that features of the CM site can be better explained by geological or other causes unrelated to ancient human activity. However, we contend that their conclusion reflects an incomplete assessment of our evidence. They further propose a standard of evidence at odds with current practice in the philosophy of science, and misuse a commonly quoted aphorism that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”.
KW - California
KW - Cerutti mastodon site
KW - early peopling of the Americas
KW - philosophy of science
KW - taphonomy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85050769997&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/20555563.2017.1396836
DO - 10.1080/20555563.2017.1396836
M3 - Comment/debate
AN - SCOPUS:85050769997
SN - 2055-5563
VL - 4
SP - 12
EP - 15
JO - PaleoAmerica
JF - PaleoAmerica
IS - 1
ER -