Stratumstrange finds, fair tests
The catalog

Cases

Every anomaly in the catalog. Sort any column; filter by fate. “Evidence then” shows the eight features as they stood when the claim was made.

7Vindicated
0Partly
11Open
1Unsupported
7Refuted
FateCaseWhereKindClaimed ageClaimedVerdictYearsLeapEvidence thenRecord
OpenJebel IrhoudSkulls once read as Neanderthal; dated in 2017 to ~315,000 years and proposed as earliest H. sapiens.MoroccoToo early313k yrs2017open9+1.6×Reviewed
OpenHueyatlacoStone tools near Puebla found with bone dated to ~245,000 years, an age the excavator herself rejected.MexicoToo early242k yrs1969open57+18×Reviewed
RefutedCalico Early Man SiteChipped chert from a Mojave alluvial fan that Louis Leakey took for tools; most now see natural breakage.United StatesToo early100k–500k yrs19681973517×Reviewed
RefutedJapanese Early Paleolithic hoax (Fujimura finds)An amateur's finds took Japan's human past back 700,000 years, until a newspaper filmed him burying them.JapanToo early30k–700k yrs19812002214.8×Reviewed
OpenCerutti Mastodon siteBroken mastodon bones beside heavy cobbles in a San Diego freeway cut, dated to about 130,000 years ago.United StatesToo early130k yrs2017open9+8.7×Reviewed
OpenMadjedbebe (Malakunanja II)Tools in a northern Australian rock shelter that may put people in Australia 65,000 years ago.AustraliaToo early65k yrs2017open9+1.3×Reviewed
OpenTopper SiteA South Carolina chert quarry where pieces in sediment over 50,000 years old may be tools or natural breaks.United StatesToo early50k yrs2004open22+3.4×Reviewed
OpenBoqueirão da Pedra FuradaA Brazilian rock shelter where charcoal and flaked pebbles may place people 30,000+ years ago.BrazilToo early44k yrs1984open42+3.3×Reviewed
VindicatedDenisovansA new human lineage identified in 2010 from a finger bone's DNA, before any diagnostic skeleton was found.RussiaNew lineage30k–48k yrs201020100—Reviewed
OpenBluefish CavesYukon caves whose cut-marked bones may place people in North America at the height of the last Ice Age.CanadaToo early29k yrs1982open44+2.1×Reviewed
VindicatedHomo floresiensis ("the Hobbit")A 1-metre Flores skeleton, called a diseased modern human by critics, is now a distinct hominin species.IndonesiaNew lineage18k–38k yrs2004201612—Reviewed
OpenWhite Sands footprintsHuman footprints in an ice-age New Mexico lakebed, dated to ~23,000–21,000 years ago; the dates are disputed.United StatesToo early22k yrs2021open5+1.3×Reviewed
UnsupportedGunung PadangA claimed Ice Age pyramid inside a Javan megalith hill; the paper was retracted in 2024.IndonesiaCapability16k–27k yrs2013—13—Reviewed
RefutedBosnian PyramidsNatural Miocene hills at Visoko, promoted as pyramids first ~12,000 and later ~34,000 years old.Bosnia and HerzegovinaCapability12k–34k yrs200520061—Reviewed
VindicatedMonte Verde (MV-II)A peat-sealed campsite in southern Chile that broke Clovis-first; its age was challenged again in 2026.ChileToo early15k yrs19821997151.1×Reviewed
VindicatedPaisley CavesAncient Oregon cave feces predate Clovis; the DNA that called them human misclassified some as carnivore.United StatesToo early14k yrs20082020121.1×Reviewed
VindicatedGöbekli TepeMegaliths in Turkey show hunter-gatherers built monumental enclosures before farming began.TurkeyCapability11k yrs199520005—Reviewed
OpenGreat Sphinx Weathering ControversyDeep weathering around the Great Sphinx, read by a geologist as a sign it was carved millennia before Khafre.EgyptToo early7.9k yrs1991open35+1.8×Reviewed
RefutedGlozelA French field yielded 'Neolithic' tablets in an unknown script; critics soon called them forgeries.FranceCapability5.7k yrs192519272—Reviewed
VindicatedTroy / HisarlıkA mound in Turkey confirmed as Troy; whether Homer's war really happened is still unsettled.TurkeyLegend3.1k yrs1865189429—Reviewed
OpenTecaxic-Calixtlahuaca "Roman head"A Roman-looking clay head from a Mexican burial dug in 1933; its date, context and origin are all disputed.MexicoContact1.7k yrs1960open66+—Reviewed
VindicatedL'Anse aux MeadowsOvergrown ridges in Newfoundland were a Norse camp of c. AD 1000, the first authenticated in North America.CanadaLegend950 yrs196019688—Reviewed
RefutedKensington RunestoneA Minnesota farm find of 1898, runically dated 1362, that two professors judged not medieval in 1899.United StatesContact590 yrs189818991—Reviewed
RefutedCardiff GiantA carved gypsum figure buried on a New York farm in 1868, dug up in 1869 and shown as a petrified giant.United StatesObject—186918690—Reviewed
OpenMeadowcroft RockshelterA Pennsylvania rockshelter with charcoal dates of up to 19,000 radiocarbon years, long before Clovis.United StatesToo early—1977open49+—Reviewed
RefutedPiltdown ManSkull pieces and an ape jaw from a Sussex gravel pit, hailed as an early human in 1912, shown forged in 1953.United KingdomNew lineage—1912195341—Reviewed
Open

Jebel Irhoud

Skulls once read as Neanderthal; dated in 2017 to ~315,000 years and proposed as earliest H. sapiens.

Morocco315 ± 34 ka (TL)
Open

Hueyatlaco

Stone tools near Puebla found with bone dated to ~245,000 years, an age the excavator herself rejected.

Mexico~245,000 yr (U-series); FT ages said to agree
Signpost listing distances to other archaeological sites, on the gravelly desert surface at the site (BLM photo, 2023).
Refuted

Calico Early Man Site

Chipped chert from a Mojave alluvial fan that Louis Leakey took for tools; most now see natural breakage.

United States100,000-500,000 yr (1970); >200,000 yr since 1981
Refuted

Japanese Early Paleolithic hoax (Fujimura finds)

An amateur's finds took Japan's human past back 700,000 years, until a newspaper filmed him burying them.

Japan>30,000 rising to >700,000 years
Two mastodon femur heads from the Cerutti site, one numbered 252, in a San Diego Natural History Museum display.
Open

Cerutti Mastodon site

Broken mastodon bones beside heavy cobbles in a San Diego freeway cut, dated to about 130,000 years ago.

United States~130,700 ± 9,400 years ago (U-series)
Open

Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II)

Tools in a northern Australian rock shelter that may put people in Australia 65,000 years ago.

Australia~65,000 years ago (OSL)
Open

Topper Site

A South Carolina chert quarry where pieces in sediment over 50,000 years old may be tools or natural breaks.

United States≥50,300 14C BP (minimum age)
Open

Boqueirão da Pedra Furada

A Brazilian rock shelter where charcoal and flaked pebbles may place people 30,000+ years ago.

Brazil≥31,500 14C BP (1984); ~50,000 b.p. by 1996
Vindicated

Denisovans

A new human lineage identified in 2010 from a finger bone's DNA, before any diagnostic skeleton was found.

Russia~48,000-30,000 years (Denisova 3, by cave stratigraphy)
Open

Bluefish Caves

Yukon caves whose cut-marked bones may place people in North America at the height of the last Ice Age.

Canada~24,800 14C BP (about 29,000 cal BP, IntCal20)
Cast of the LB1 skull and mandible on museum display.
Vindicated

Homo floresiensis ("the Hobbit")

A 1-metre Flores skeleton, called a diseased modern human by critics, is now a distinct hominin species.

IndonesiaPresent from before ~38,000 to at least ~18,000 years ago
Open

White Sands footprints

Human footprints in an ice-age New Mexico lakebed, dated to ~23,000–21,000 years ago; the dates are disputed.

United States~23,000–21,000 cal BP
The megalithic stone terraces at Gunung Padang, West Java.
Unsupported

Gunung Padang

A claimed Ice Age pyramid inside a Javan megalith hill; the paper was retracted in 2024.

IndonesiaOldest phase 25,000–14,000 BCE (~27,000–16,000 cal BP)
Refuted

Bosnian Pyramids

Natural Miocene hills at Visoko, promoted as pyramids first ~12,000 and later ~34,000 years old.

Bosnia and Herzegovina~12,000 yr (2005) to ~33,800 BP (2025 preprint)
Vindicated

Monte Verde (MV-II)

A peat-sealed campsite in southern Chile that broke Clovis-first; its age was challenged again in 2026.

Chile~13,000 14C yr BP; revised ~12,500 (~14,500 cal BP)
Vindicated

Paisley Caves

Ancient Oregon cave feces predate Clovis; the DNA that called them human misclassified some as carnivore.

United States~14,300 cal BP (12,300 14C yr BP, AMS on coprolite)
Overview of the main excavation area at Göbekli Tepe, showing stone enclosures with upright T-shaped pillars.
Vindicated

Göbekli Tepe

Megaliths in Turkey show hunter-gatherers built monumental enclosures before farming began.

Turkey~9600-8200 cal BC
The Great Sphinx of Giza, carved from the limestone bedrock of the Giza Plateau.
Open

Great Sphinx Weathering Controversy

Deep weathering around the Great Sphinx, read by a geologist as a sign it was carved millennia before Khafre.

Egyptc. 7000-5000 BC ('probably a minimum')
The International Commission excavating at Glozel, November 1927.
Refuted

Glozel

A French field yielded 'Neolithic' tablets in an unknown script; critics soon called them forgeries.

FranceEarly Neolithic; c. 4000-3500 BC per Reinach (1926)
The mound of Hisarlık in Çanakkale Province, Turkey, identified as the site of ancient Troy.
Vindicated

Troy / Hisarlık

A mound in Turkey confirmed as Troy; whether Homer's war really happened is still unsettled.

TurkeyHomer's Troy; traditional fall c. 1184 BCE (Eratosthenes)
Open

Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca "Roman head"

A Roman-looking clay head from a Mexican burial dug in 1933; its date, context and origin are all disputed.

Mexico2nd-3rd century AD (style, not a physical date)
Vindicated

L'Anse aux Meadows

Overgrown ridges in Newfoundland were a Norse camp of c. AD 1000, the first authenticated in North America.

Canadac. AD 1000 (saga chronology)
The Kensington Runestone, showing the runes carved on its face.
Refuted

Kensington Runestone

A Minnesota farm find of 1898, runically dated 1362, that two professors judged not medieval in 1899.

United StatesAD 1362 (date carved in the text)
Refuted

Cardiff Giant

A carved gypsum figure buried on a New York farm in 1868, dug up in 1869 and shown as a petrified giant.

United StatesNo fixed figure; ancient statue or petrified giant
Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Washington County, Pennsylvania, 2010.
Open

Meadowcroft Rockshelter

A Pennsylvania rockshelter with charcoal dates of up to 19,000 radiocarbon years, long before Clovis.

United States16,000-19,000 14C yr BP (uncalibrated)
The brown-stained Piltdown jaw, with two molars and a '1912' label, shown at Melbourne Museum in 2021.
Refuted

Piltdown Man

Skull pieces and an ape jaw from a Sussex gravel pit, hailed as an early human in 1912, shown forged in 1953.

United KingdomEarly Pleistocene (no figure in years)