If man originated in Africa, how did he get to America and how far advanced in his development was he at time?

Question

Yes but was he homosapiens by then?

Answer 1

Ichabodwa gives a good comprehensive analysis of the differing hypothesis being investigated.  As an electrical engineer I once held anthropology in contempt & thought it to be a pseudo science due to the lack of repeatable & provable scientific observations.  Later, I reevaluated my opinions & concluded I'd have to disavow astromony as a science too.  We were taught that Jupiter had 9 moons when I was in school.  Science is a continuing discovery based on accumulated evidence & we never know "what we don't know" until we find evidence to suggest it.

Answer 2

Man didn't necessarily solely originate from Africa. In the scientific community, the multiregional hypothesis is becoming more accepted now. But it is believed that man first came to the Americas from The Bering Strait; this theory has been widely accepted since the 1930s. This model of migration into the New World proposes that people migrated from Siberia into Alaska, tracking big game animal herds. They were able to cross between the two continents by a land bridge called the Bering Land Bridge, which spanned what is now the Bering Strait, during the Wisconsin glaciation, the last major stage of the Pleistocene beginning 50,000 years ago and ending some 10,000 years ago, when ocean levels were 60 metres (200 ft) lower than today. This information is gathered using oxygen isotope records from deep-sea cores. An exposed land bridge that was at least 1,000 miles wide existed between Siberia and the western coast of Alaska. From the archaeological evidence gathered, it was concluded that this culture of big game hunters crossed the Bering Strait at least 12,000 years ago and could have eventually reached the southern tip of South America by 11,000 years ago.

To answer your other added question, yes. Scientific evidence indicates that humans evolved into their present form during the Pleistocene. In the beginning of the Pleistocene, Paranthropus-species are still present, as well as early human ancestors, but during lower palaeolithic they disappear, and the only hominin species found in fossilic records is Homo erectus for much of the Pleistocene. This species migrated through much of the old world, giving rise to many variations of human. Middle and late palaeolithic saw the appearance of new types of human, as well as the development of more elaborate tools than previously present. According to mitochondrial timing techniques, the modern human species migrated from Africa after the Riss glaciation in the middle palaeolithic during the Eemian interglacial, spreading all over the ice-free world during the late Pleistocene.

Answer 3

my dad went on a boat....he told me mum he was quite well developed..

Answer 4

If i can answer that I would be filthy rich!

Answer 5

This question still has no definite answer.  

Originally, western science believed that humans crossed the Bering Straight after the last ice-age.  However, recently artifacts have been found in Mexico that date back about 14,000 years, 4,000 before the last ice-age ended, making it impossible for people to have crossed southern Canada as it was covered by a glacier.  

Now scientists speculate that they arrived by boat, still following a similar path as the Bering Straight, but mooring to some giant sea kelp that grows from the Japanese coast, north and then all the way down past southern California.  This kelp also provides a great environment for plenty of fish which would have been their food source.

However they got here, the humans that arrived in America were fully homo sapiens sapiens, meaning that they were as evolutionarily developed as modern humans.  

Here's a cool website that will tell you more:www.archaeologyinfo.com/index.html

Answer 6

Are you referring to the theory that Sasquatch and Bigfoot if they exist evolved from  Homo Erectus or some other hominid? If not see the answers above!

Answer 7

The definite answer is this;

Man invented the aircraft and flew to America.

The first flights were so slow that it took about 19 hours to fly from the South of the AFRICAN CONTINENT to about where Miami is now.

Some scholars estimate the air speed to have been as slow as 1000 km/h at the time....

Then, having met up with the American Indians, and learning from them what culture really is, he slowly developed his skills to eventually become Homosapiens

Answer 8

Homo erectus "Upright Man") was the first hominid to leave Africa. His existence dates from 1.6 million years ago to perhaps 200,000 years ago. However, recent discovers have suggested that isolated populations may have existed even later.

Brain size is put at 850cc, height up to 6 feet and weight was comparable to modern humans.

Early discoveries of Homo Eretus remains were variously named Peking Man, Java Man and Heidelberg Man. His range was all of Africa, most of Europe and as far east as China. Sites in California have been proposed as containing Homo erectus tools but no bones have been found. No one had satisfactorily explained how the vast distance from China to California was crossed. Recently a small sample the population of China was tested to determine their DNA. The theory tested was that man developed in Africa, spread out and then further developed in China. What was found suggested that waves of hominids came out of Africa, each developed the race further. The idea how having man develop in several regions and not just Africa has supporters as does the "out of Africa" theory.

Humans, like us were the first to reach the Americas. The first people into the Americas were nomadic hunters. They didn't plan to come here, they followed the migrations of the game. There was no point where somebody said "hey, welcome to the New World" Like most people, they were interested in getting enough to eat and leaving things a bit better for their children. We don't consider them "Native Americans" as they weren't born here and they predate the development of today's Native Americans (Indians). Rather we call them "PaleoIndians." That they came we know. The route is being debated.

These are the current theories: the Bering Land Bridge Theory, Pacific Coastal Route Theory, Pacific Crossing Theory, and the Atlantic Crossing Theory,



Several of the theories share similar facts. The Bering Land Bridge and the Pacific Coastal Route both have the first people coming into the Americas from Siberia. The Pacific Route suggests that people sailed the South Pacific to colonize first South America, then migrated north into what is today North America. Finally, the Atlantic Route has people following the pack ice from Europe to the Americas.



Theories are explanations of collected facts and observations. If the theory is disproved by the facts, then it is discarded or changed. Each of the theories mentioned here seeks to explain the numerous known facts



There are two reasons to believe that people came to the Americas from elsewhere.



First is the process of elimination. There are no hominids that developed in the Americas. This is the family that includes humans and apes. Therefore, any humans had to come from elsewhere.



Second is physical evidence. The appearance of humans in the Americas coincides with the end of the last ice age and the existence of the Bering land bridge.



Third is genetic evidence. Native Americans have what is called shovel shaped teeth. Basically the backs of the front teeth are curved, much like a shovel. This is a trait that they share with people in Northwestern Asia.



There is the fact that Native American languages show the languages belong to three groupings: Paleo-Indians ( Pai, Pima, and Puebloans); Athabaskans (Navaho and Apache) and Eskimo-Aleut (Inuits). The roots of these languages show commonality with Asian tongues.



Lastly, there are physical remains, like teeth shape. The earliest skeletons of Paleo-indians show that they were of Mongolian stock. That is Asian. Even today, the blood grouping of Native Americans and even some of the inherited diseases show an Asian origin. Even the Kennewick Man, dated to 9,300 BCE., appears to be from Asia.



Here are the theories and discussion of each:



Bering Land Bridge



During the great ice age, the great ice sheets locked up much of the world's water. The sea level dropped as much as 300 feet. This greatly changed the shape of the coastlines. What was, and is now, the Bering Strait became dry land. Asia and the Americas were connected. The exposed sea bottom has been named "Beringia."



Beringia is generally thought to have been a flat plain, dry and dusty. It did support plant and animal life. Nomadic hunters followed the game animals. This eventually led them into North America. They never knew when they crossed over to a new world.



Once in the Americas, they found the passage south blocked. The ice sheets from the Rockies had merged with the ones from the Hudson Bay region. An important part about the Bering land bridge was that, when it existed, the ice blocked the way to what would be the United States. When the ice melted, the land bridge disappeared.



The major problem with the theory is that there are archeological sites found all over North America with about the same carbon-14 date. (10,500- 12,500 BCE). The southern tip of South America has sites dated to just 1,000 years later. That is quite a movement of people. Supporters must find a way to explain how the ice could retreat and people could colonize the Americas so quickly.



To do so, they point to an ice free corridor that opened between the Hudson Bay and Rocky Mountain ice sheets. Once opened and "greened up" with plants and animals, this created a pathway for people to enter the new lands.



Excavations along the supposed route do not fully support the theory. There should be datable sites and a clear travel pattern. However, there are few such sites. It almost seems that people would have had to rush through the corridor leaving nothing behind.



Another issue is the rate that the Americas were occupied. The tip of South America is dated as being settled only 500 years after the route South was opened. Most explanations of settlement go "If a group of hunters moved only 25 miles south in each generation..." However, mountain ranges, climatic changes and distribution of plant and animals are not uniform. Most nomadic groups tend to stay in familiar lands and exploit the resources that they have learned about. It is only later, when a group splits or famine threatens, that they move.



Pacific Coastal Route Theory



This theory is similar to the Bering Land Bridge theory. People came across through Beringia and settled the Americas. However, they used boats and followed the Pacific coastline.



Recent investigations have shown that there were small refuges along the western coastline. Seafaring peoples could have migrated south along the coast. However, finding their campsites now requires exploration in deep water. A few years ago, there was a dredging operation. Sites were selected based on the expected coastline of 10,000 plus years ago and on the area required for a camping spot. This yielded a man made stone tool.



The Clovis toolkit uses a toggle shaft system. The projectile point is hafted to a short foreshaft. This then fits into a socket of a longer shaft. What it looks like is a harpoon. Such a system is often used in hunting sea mammals.



The problem with the theory is a lack or evidence. The "Clovis First" group claims that all the oldest dated sites are Clovis and that the Bering Land Bridge theory explains them. Sites, such as Cactus Hill in Virginia, do have dateable preClovis deposits. However, actual evidence is scanty and under debate.



Pacific Crossing Theory,



This theory is based on the observation that the oldest human sites appear to be in South America -that it was South America that seemed to be settled first. Monte Verde, a site in the far south of Chile is dated to 16,500 BCE. There is a possible site in Brazil with a claim of 30,000 BCE.



Kennewick Man and the oldest known American skeletons appear to display traits more that of Pacific Islanders, Australians and the original people of Japan.

  Archeological finds in Indonesia and Australia, show that Homo Erectus did cross some significant ocean passages. The first Australians had to cross 60 miles of ocean. This suggests that humans could have had ocean sailing abilities.

The theory has ocean traveling people making landfall in South America after crossing the South Pacific. That's a cold and barren route, with few landmasses.



Atlantic Crossing Theory



This theory is based on two main points. Siberia has no corresponding Clovis Point Culture and there is an "X factor" in the Native American blood groupings.



If Clovis had started in the Americas, traces of similar stone technology should also appear in Asia. It does not. About the closest similar stonework comes from Spain.



The "X Factor" in Native American blood is present in a very small percentage of the world population. It is found in Europeans, not Asians.



The theory has hunters following the edge of the polar ice pack. They lived off marine animals and sea life. Once in North America, they spread out.



Most likely, there were a number of waves of immigrants to the Americas. The arguments for the number and route seem to change daily.



The current contender for the most probable theory seems to have the Pacific coastal route on the rise. Basically, it is supported by most of the current facts and does explain the very early dating that is currently being discovered. However, it would be better to wait 20 years to see what else happens.

Answer 9

across the ice/landbridge in the north

pretty well advanced

Answer 10

there is always the pangea theory, i mean it dont take a genuis to cross the street

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