1. The First North Americans
Arrival Theories

2. Arrival Theories Bering Land Bridge/Clovis Theory
Pacific Coastal Route Theory
Pacific Crossing Theory
Atlantic Crossing Theory

3. Bering Land Bridge / Clovis Theory
Migrants from NE Asia arrived in NA during the last Ice Age via the Bering Land Bridge
Discovered a passage in the glaciers & eventually moved south from Alaska to inhabit the Americas
Big Game hunters
Clovis, New Mexico
13,500 year old -spear points

4. Clovis People

5. Pacific Coastal Route Theory
Explorers from SE Asia may have travelled the Pacific coast in small boats
Coast was more exposed due to glaciation
Eventually populated both North & South America
Monte Verde, Chile remains of a 14,500 year old campsite have been discovered

6. Pacific Crossing Theory
peoples of the SW Pacific may have travelled east eventually reaching South America
13,500 year old skull in Brazil bears similarities to early Australian aborigines
No solid evidence; highly unlikely

7. Atlantic Crossing Theory
Proponents suggest that people from the Iberian Peninsula traveled across the Atlantic in boats following the edge of receding glaciers
Solutrean Technology from Spain and France
16, , 000 yrs ago
Cactus Hill, Va & Topper, S.C

8. Homework Questions
What is the most important source of evidence for early human beings in the Americas?
Why is this type of evidence difficult to use to draw conclusions?
Where do most scientists think the first peoples to reach the Americas came from?
Where is the oldest site of human habitation found in the Americas? Which theory does this support and why?
Which evidence would support the Atlantic Crossing Theory? Explain.
Which evidence challenges the Clovis Theory?
Based on the evidence presented, which theory do you think is most likely? Explain your reasoning.
How can archaeological evidence teach us about culture?