Assessing the proposed pre-last glacial maximum human occupation of North America at Coats-Hines-Litchy, Tennessee, and other sites Jesse W. Tune a, *, 1 , Michael R. Waters b, **, 1 , Kayla A. Schmalle c , Larisa R.G. DeSantis d , George D. Kamenov e a Department of Anthropology, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO 81301, USA b Center for the Study of the First Americans, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA c Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA d Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA e Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA article info Article history: Received 6 October 2017 Received in revised form 19 February 2018 Accepted 20 February 2018 Keywords: Pre-Clovis Last glacial maximum Geoarchaeology Site formation abstract Genomic studies indicate that the first Pleistocene foragers who entered North America diverged from ancestral populations in Beringia sometime after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM); however, several archaeological sites in North America have been proposed to predate the LGM. We present the results of our excavation and analysis of one such site, Coats-Hines-Litchy, Tennessee, which show that this site is a paleontological locality containing a geofact assemblage that pre-dates the LGM. Other sites in North America that purportedly predate the LGM occur in geomorphic contexts that are also conducive to the formation of geofact assemblages. As such, we propose that the reported artifacts from these sites were created by natural processes. No sites in North America currently provide credible evidence of a pre-LGM occupation. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The Americas were the last continents to be explored and settled by modern humans. Genomic evidence suggests an initial human arrival, or at least genetic divergence, approximately 15,000 to 16,000 years ago (Llamas et al., 2016; Raghavan et al., 2015; Schurr, 2015). While many aspects of that migration are still debated, the overwhelming evidence supports a population expansion out of eastern Beringia and into the Americas after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ca. 19,000-26,000 cal yr B$P.) (Nielsen et al., 2017; Rasmussen et al., 2014; Reich et al., 2012; Tackney et al., 2015). However, archaeological sites pre-dating the LGM have been proposed for both North and South America (e.g., Bo€ eda et al., 2016; Collins et al., 2003; Holen et al., 2017; Madsen, 2015). These sites largely consist of non-diagnostic lithic assemblages and supposedly modified bones. As such, these proposed archaeological sites are in conflict with current genomic data. To address this incongruence, we examine the archaeological evidence for proposed pre-LGM sites in North America. We present the results of our investiga- tion of the Coats-Hines-Litchy (CHL) site, Tennessee, and assess two other proposed North American pre-LGM sites with similar site formation processes (Fig. 1C). 1.1. Site setting and previous research CHL is located near the head of a small stream channel that is surrounded by rolling hills (Fig. 1A). Outcrops of Fort Payne and Bigby-Canon limestones, which contain seams of chert, occur up- slope of the site (Wilson and Miller, 1963). A series of excavations from 1994 to 1995 focused in Area B of the site and exposed a bone bed containing the disarticulated remains of a mastodon (Mammut americanum) along with highly fragmented remains of horse (Equus), deer (Odocoileus), muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), canid (Canis), turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), frog (Rana), and painted turtle (Chrysemys)(Fig. 2)(Breitburg et al., 1996). Lithic and osseous ar- tifacts were found during the excavations and potential cutmarks made by stone tools were identified on one vertebrae fragment * Corresponding author. ** Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: jwtune@fortlewis.edu (J.W. Tune), mwaters@tamu.edu (M.R. Waters). 1 Corresponding authors who contributed equally to the project. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary Science Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quascirev https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.02.018 0277-3791/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Quaternary Science Reviews 186 (2018) 47e59