Since Ignatius Donnelly's "Atlantis - The Antediluvian World" came out in 1882, one of the main arguments, used by skeptics, against the existence of Atlantis has been that there is no evidence of any advanced civilization that far back in time - 9000 BC. However, practically every year new discovers are made which continue to push back the dates of the beginning of civilization. The discoveries keep showing us that ancient man was more sophisticated they previously believed.

Case in point is the "discovery" of the oldest known mummy in North America. The mummy, named the Spirit Cave man, was found on the shelves of the Nevada State Museum. Discovered in Nevada in 1940 it was originally thought to be 2000 years old. Recent radiocarbon dating has pushed its age back to 9,400 years (7,400 BC).

The most intriguing facts is that the mummy was wearing moccasins and shrouds of woven marsh plants. The weave of the shrouds indicates that it was made on a loom. If these findings turn out to be true it would mean that the there were people in North America more than 9,000 years ago with the knowledge and technology to weave cloths on looms. Such a level of sophistication again pushes back the dates of early civilization and should makes us question some long held assumptions about the primitiveness of ancient people. DNA and other tests are being undertaken.

This certainly doesn't prove the existence of Atlantis but it does push accepted science closer to the possibility.