Final answer:
Evidence from the Monte Verde site in Chile indicates humans lived there around 13,000 BP, challenging the 'Clovis First' hypothesis by suggesting a coastal migration route from Asia before the ice-free corridor via the Bering land bridge was available.
Step-by-step explanation:
The archaeological site known as Monte Verde in Southern Chile has provided substantial evidence that humans resided there around 13,000 years before the present (BP). Found artifacts, such as wood and hide shelters, clay-lined fire pits, and preserved footprints, suggest a pre-Clovis occupation of the Americas that predates the Bering land bridge migration, indicating an early coastal migration route. The evidence from Monte Verde and similar sites presents a challenge to the traditional "Clovis First" hypothesis, providing insight into the people of the Americas.
The discovery at the site in Chile not only points to an earlier habitation date than what was previously accepted but also implies that the first inhabitants might have traveled by a coastal route from Asia, potentially following the "kelp highway" along the Pacific Coast, rather than solely overland via the Bering Strait. While these findings have been the subject of debate among archaeologists, largely due to the challenges of radiocarbon dating and distinguishing man-made tools from naturally occurring objects in the earliest layers of these sites, they open new possibilities for understanding the timeline and routes of ancient migration into the Americas.