Peopling of the Americas

The Peopling of the Americas was the process of people from Asia migrating to the Americas. They crossed the Bering Strait, which was all land at the time. This area is now known as Beringia. Today, the strait is underwater and freezes in winter.

The peopling of the Americas happened over a long period of time. There were different groups of people who came at different times.

Theories


One idea says that people migrated, either on foot or using boats, down the Pacific coast to South America as far as Chile.

The short chronology theory says that the first migration happened after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). During this period, much ice melted and the LGM went into decline after about 19,000 years ago. This was then followed by waves of immigrants.

Another major theory is the long chronology theory. It says that the first group of people entered Beringia, including ice-free parts of Alaska, at a much earlier date, possibly 40,000 years ago, followed by a much later second wave of immigrants.

Migration routes

 Lithic evidence of pre-Clovis migrations 

There are many pre-Clovis sites in the American Southwest, particularly in the Mojave Desert. In Lake Mojave quarries dating back to the Pleistocene, archaeologists have found lithic remains of man-made projectile points at Silver Lake and Lake Mojave. This indicates that people moved into the region as early as 13,800 Before Present, if not earlier.

 References 

Category:Controversies
Category:Indigenous peoples
Category:Prehistory