Anzick-1
| Common name | Anzick Boy |
|---|---|
| Species | Homo sapiens |
| Age | 12,707–12,556 years BP |
| Place discovered | Near Wilsall, Montana, U.S. |
| Date discovered | 1968 |
Anzick-1 is the name given to the remains of Paleo-Indian male infant found in western Montana, U.S. in 1968 that date to 12,707–12,556 years BP. The child was found with more than 115 tools made of stone and antlers and dusted with red ocher, suggesting an honorary burial. Anzick-1 is the only human who has been discovered from the Clovis Complex, and is the first ancient Native American genome to be fully sequenced.
Paleogenomic analysis of the remains revealed Siberian ancestry and a close genetic relationship to modern Native Americans, including those of Central and South America. These findings support the hypothesis that modern Native Americans are descended from Asian populations who crossed Beringia between 32,000 and 18,000 years ago.
Anzick-1's discovery and subsequent analysis has been controversial. The remains were found on private land, so the researchers did not violate the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in their study. But many Native American tribal members in Montana believed they should have been consulted before the researchers undertook analysis of the infant's skeleton and genome.
Anzick-1 was reburied on June 28, 2014 in the Shields River Valley in an intertribal ceremony. The numerous Clovis artifacts associated with the first burial are archived at the Montana Historical Society in Helena, Montana.
The Anzick site was accidentally discovered by a construction worker in a collapsed rock shelter near Wilsall, Montana, on private land. The remains were found on the ranch of the Anzick family.
The Anzick-1 remains were found buried under numerous tools: 100 stone tools and 15 remnants of tools made of bone. The site contained hundreds of stone projectile points, blades, and bifaces, as well as the remains of two juveniles. Some of the artifacts were covered in red ocher. The stone points were identified as part of the Clovis Complex because of their distinct shape and size. Originally, the two human skeletons were both thought to contemporaneous with the Clovis Complex stone points, but later carbon dating revealed that only one of the human skeletons, Anzick-1, was from the Clovis period. Anzick-1 predates the other skeleton by two millennia.
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