Full Description
As modern humans spread around the globe, the Americas represented the final continental frontier. These first colonists were modern in appearance and technology, but who were they and when did they arrive? Traditional answers to these questions have come under increasing scrutiny in the face of new findings from artifacts, skeletal remains, genes, and languages. The peopling of the Americas has become one of archaeology's most compelling and contentious subjects, as these new lines of evidence reveal a more complex solution. In this volume, distinguished scientists from the fields of archaeology, physical anthropology, paleoecology, genetics, and linguistics assess the latest evidence from Siberia to Chile and offer provocative ideas for how, when, and where humans entered the Americas. Contributors of this title include: Bruce Bradley, Linda Brown, Scott A. Elias, Tom D. Dillehay, John Douglas, Jon M. Erlandson, Nina G. Jablonski, David J. Meltzer, D. Andrew Merriwether, Johanna Nichols, Joseph F. Powell, Anna C. Roosevelt, Jack Rossen, Dennis Stanford, D. Gentry Steele, and Christy G. Turner II Distributed for the California Academy of Sciences.
Contents
Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Setting the Stage: Environmental Conditions in Beringia as people entered the New World Scott A. Elias What do you do when no one's been there before? Thoughts on the exploration and colonization of new lands David J. Meltzer Anatomically modern humans, maritime voyaging, and the Pleistocene colonization of the Americas Jon M. Erlandson Facing the past: A view of the North American human fossil record D. Gentry Steele and Joseph F. Powell Teeth, needles, dogs and Siberia: Bioarchaeological evidence for the colonization of the New World Christy G. Turner II The migrations and adaptations of the first Americans: Clovis and pre-Clovis views from South America A.C. Roosevelt, John Douglas and Linda Brown Plant food and its implications for the peopling of the New World: A view from South America Tom D. Dillehay and Jack Rossen Ocean trails and prairie paths? Thoughts about Clovis origins Dennis Stanford and Bruce Bradley The first American languages Johanna Nichols A Mitochondrial perspective on the peopling of the New World D. Andrew Merriwether
