Settlement of the Americas PDF

How were the Americas originally settled by people? Migration hypothesis: Most anthropologists and archaeologists believe that during the peak of the last glacial period (20,000 – 30,000 years ago) because so much water was locked up in ice, sea levels were lower - in some places as much as 200-300...

How were the Americas originally settled by people? Migration hypothesis: Most anthropologists and archaeologists believe that during the peak of the last glacial period (20,000 – 30,000 years ago) because so much water was locked up in ice, sea levels were lower - in some places as much as 200-300 feet lower. This created a land bridge between current day Russia and Alaska, allowing a pathway for hunter-gatherers to cross into the Americas. This land bridge was known as Beringia, and today much of it is under water in the regions around/including the Bering Strait in the north Pacific Ocean. Evidence: Archaeological – similar burial practices and tools on both sides of Beringia Biological – mitochondrial DNA studies have shown the same mitochondrial DNA markers on descendants from Native Americans as those found on descendants from tribes in Siberia. These same markers are unique and not found on mitochondrial DNA in people from Europe, Africa, or other places in Asia. Also, water/coastal route, as well as south Pacific Route. The problem with this route: archaeological evidence would now be under water, due to submerged coast lines as the ice age ended. DNA evidence points strongly to this, however, as some peoples from South America have the same genetic markers as native Pacific Islanders. Once Native Americans arrived, they began spreading out and adapting to their new environments. Native American societies: Most were hunter/gatherers, but farming began in the central valley of Mexico approx. 5,000 yrs. ago and spread outward from there. Major areas of agriculture in North America: Anasazi – Chaco Canyon Adena and Hopewell – Ohio region Mississippian/Cahokia – Illinois region Crop cultivation brought about population explosion, social hierarchy, and transformation of culture into advanced societies. Mayan and Toltec in ancient central Mexico, then the Aztecs (Mexica) arrived in central Mexico about 300 years before contact with Europeans. Most other groups adopted some level of cultivation, but used it in combination with hunting/gathering. Eastern Woodland cultures (Algonquin), Great Lakes region (Iroquois), and Southeastern (Muskogean) combined cultivation with hunting/gathering. This brought about seasonal “feast and famine” conditions, keeping their populations low and less stable. Kinship was important, identification with tribe. Most eastern woodland tribes were matrilineal (women were the farmers, and thus “owned” the land). Iroquoian tribes were mostly patrilineal, because farming was less common and men were in charge of the hunting grounds. While most Native American groups in North America remained small and somewhat isolated from each other, they did develop trade routes and had at least seasonal interaction through trade. After regular contact with Europeans began in 1492, the biggest killer of Native Americans became germs and disease. Why? Because Native American groups had almost no domesticated animals – the source pool for most of the germs that have proven deadly to humans throughout history, and even today. They had the dog, also the turkey, as well as alpacas used as pack animals in the South American Andes Mountains. The domesticated animals that were common in Eurasia, namely cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens, were not found in the Americas before Columbus arrived. Europeans had domesticated these animals thousands of years before Columbus sailed and dealt with these germs for centuries, eventually building up some level of naturally-inherited immunity. These diseases include infections such as smallpox and the other poxes, influenza, etc. Native Americans had none of this natural immunity, resulting in catastrophic loss of life when these germs are brought by Europeans. Some tribes were wiped out completely, other weakened to the degree that there was no hope of resistance to Europeans.