Where did the first people in America come from anyway?

Question

did they come from siberia? australia? europe?

and did north america get settled before south america or vica versa?

Answer 1

The History channel has a great show on this called Journy to 10,000 Years B.C.  Some ansestors did come from Asia, but there is also evidence that some came on a boat from France to Virginia.  They discoved that a civilization used the same tool making methods in France, Spain and Portugal as they did in America.

Answer 2

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. The Clovis culture also appears to have it's oldest sites in the American South and East coast.



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 3

From the Asian area. They came across an ice bridge that connected the two continents. They were nomadic people and they followed their food to N. America.

I'm not sure on this one but I think the earliest settlers of the Americas set up camp so to speak in the region now known as Mexico.

Answer 4

aisia

Answer 5

During the last ice age the shore line between asia and alaska-now the aleutian islands was connected since the water in the ocean had receded -being put on the land as ice and glaciers!!

  This condition then allowed the asians to cross into alaska and along the shore line down to the lower part of north america!! obvously groups slit off as others slowly moved south -over a period of a couple of thousand years!!

  Those who stayed in the north becomming the eskimos or inuit peoples !! south -the american indians and then as the migration continued they went into south america!!

  There is even some belief that peoples from soth east asia crossed the pacific in boats to settle in S.America- but the timeline is in question!!

Answer 6

Asia

Answer 7

Oh yeah, all the Indians came from France or China... give me a break.  That is typical Eurocentric thinking and the Asian/Bering Strait land bridge thing is old hat.

Maori stories tell of vast ocean voyages and are verified with mysterious massive stone carvings with "aboriginal" not "Asian" features throughout Central and South America.

Our Cherokee stories tell that we came from the west to the east.  This migration is verified through research of linguistic roots and dialects.

North America has a vast pre-Columbian history that is NEVER taught is schools as it belies the falsehood that America was a vast country with just a handful of native peoples.  Archaeological data confirms that there were MILLIONS upon millions of native people here before Columbus landed in the West Indies.

What you should be asking is where did all these people go?

Answer 8

The ancient americans came across asia to alaska via the Bearing Strait- an ice bridge that at one time connected the two continents. The ancient peoples eventually migrated south to warmer climates.

North America has older archaeological evidence of habitation than South America. There are stone spears that date to 7,000BC found all over the US. South American cultures do not start until later, let alone .... where would they have come from?