Headlines, part IV

I just came across the headline, "First Americans not as old as thought," in the Independent. It struck me as odd, since most recent archeological research has been pointing to the "first Americans" as being far older than originally thought. The original theory that the "Clovis people" were the first Americans has been more or less thoroughly debunked by findings in South America and elsewhere that predate the Clovis site by many years.

So, I looked into the article to find out what it said. And, lo and behold, it offered further proof that the "Clovis first" theory was wrong. The Clovis people, it turns out, are younger than first thought, which means they couldn't have been the first Americans.

So, the headline has it backwards. It should read, "First Americans older than thought."