11/13/11$ The$First$Americans$ March$1,$2010$ The$world$right$about$now$ ICE$ More$ICE$

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1 The$First$Americans$ March$1,$2010$ The$world$right$about$now$ ICE$ More$ICE$ 1$

2 RUSSIA% Land$Bridge$Pic$ ALASKA% BERINGIA% Land$Bridge$Hypothesis$ H/G s$follow$migraing$ animals$(woolly$ mammoth?)$across$land$ bridge$into$new$world$ Support$ Sites$in$eastern$Russia$ date$to$14,000$bp$ Sites$in$Alaska$firmly$ date$to$11,000$bp$ IceTFree$Corridor$ Clovis$Culture$ 2$

3 Clovis$ Earliest$wellTdocumented$Culture$in$North$ America$ Sites$found$throughout$N.A.$ First$one$found$at$Clovis,$New$Mexico$ ExcavaIon$strategy$ $dynamite!$ Dates:$11,000$ $9,000$BP$ Diagnos4c%ar4facts:$Clovis$spearpoints$ Very$li^le$material$culture$ Possible$bigTgame$hunters$ Minnesota$Woman$ One$of$only$a$handful$of$Clovis$human$remains why$do$you$think$this$is?$ 3$

4 Clovis$Points$ Fluted $spear$points$ made$out$of$hight quality$stone$ Haded$onto$spears$with$ sinew$and$string$ Pop$into$existence$$ Oden$found$in$ associaion$with$ mammoth$or$other$ largetgame$remains$ Other$tools$ Lehner$Ranch,$Arizona$ Located$10$miles$north$of$ USTMexico$border$ 13$mammoths,$13$Clovis$ points,$and$muliple$ cugng$tools$to$butcher$ carcasses$ No$human$remains$or$ architecture$ 4$

5 Lehner Ranch, AZ Pleistocene Extinction At the end of the Pleistocene, 70 species of animals went extinct in North America Bison, horses (2 species), camels, mammoth, sabertoothed cat, American Lion, Giant sloth Appearance of Clovis points with mammoth leads to hypothesis: Blitzkrieg Hypothesis Blitzkrieg Hypothesis Hunters pour into North America ~ 10,000 years ago, killing everything they come across forcing extinction Based on the idea that species are slow to react to new predators (e.g. Moa) 5$

6 Pros Cons Evaluating the Hypothesis Clovis points are found in association with mammoth Clovis sites throughout N.A. are close in age (this suggests a rapid migration) No evidence of human predation of most other species Many extinctions pre-date the arrival of Clovis hunters Massive environmental changes occurred during the end of the Pleistocene Not many people! Lots of land for animals to migrate Mahaffy Cache Set of 83 Clovis-aged tools Residue analysis shows that the tools were used to butcher: Camels, horses, and bison 6$

7 Environmental Change Earth gets warmer and wetter ruining the habitats of many species and this leads to extinction Pros Cons Little evidence of human predation Evidence of extinction on every continent Extinctions predate Clovis 45% of birds go extinct Hard to drive animals extinct without destroying their habitats Environment changed repeatedly during the Ice Age but there are not major extinctions until the end. Mammoth were adapted to diverse environments Temperature Curves Death by comet Extinctions may have been caused by the impact of a comet around 15,000 years ago Comet raises debris into the atmosphere and blots out sun. This leads to plant death and then animal death Evidence But Small layer of possible fragments in CA Sharp dip in the temperature curve There is no impact crater 7$

8 Middle Ground Changing environments reduce animal habitat Small species die off first Larger species lose sources of food Human predators pick off declining animal populations World slide First sites should be here But the oldest site is here Monte Verde First discovered when farmers located what they thought were large cow femurs but turned out to belong to extinct mammoth Really? I mean, really? 8$

9 Monte Verde Site located in waterlogged peat along a small creek in southern Chile Radiocarbon dated to 13,000 BP (2,000 years before Clovis) Wood is well preserved timber and foundations for 12 structures (20-30 people) Child s footprint preserved in mud Medicinal herbs found in leather pouches & 42 edible species found at the site No stone tools Nothing like Clovis!! Monte Verde Monte Verde Main layer dates to 13,500-14,500 bp Second layer dates to 33,000 bp No projectile points, but possible bola stones found 9$

10 1. Ice-free corridor 3. North Atlantic Route 2. Coastal Route 4. African Route 5. South Pacific Route Hypothesis #2 29 Coastal migration Hypothesis #2 People follow marine resources along coasts, and some folks gradually move inland Sea level rises and covers the evidence Pros: -explains why we find sites like Monte Verde -DNA evidence Cons: - Absence of evidence (no sites or boats) - Other old inland sites? 30 10$

11 Meadowcroft Rockshelter site in SW Pennsylvania Radiocarbon dates to 14,000-19,000 bp Located in a massive coal deposit 31 Alternative Hypothesis #3 North Atlantic Route Based on similarity of projectile point styles Clovis Point, Eastern Washington, ca. 9,900bp Solutrean Point, SW France, Ca. 18,000 bp Alternative Hypothesis #4 African Route Based on findings near Sao Paolo, Brazil (Santana do Riacho 1) Forty human skeletons dated ~ 11,000-8,000 bp Remains are morphologically similar to Africans/Australians 11$

12 Alternative Hypothesis #5 South Pacific Route Appearance of ceramic styles in South America that are very similar to styles found in southern China. Earliest dates 1500 B.C. DNA evidence There s more to it than archaeology Modern Native American DNA is most similar to NE Asian populations (i.e. Mongolia). Genetic diversity suggests first entry of people around 35,000 bp! (Wallace and Schurr 2000) There s more to it than archaeology Linguistics Some linguists argue that diversity of native languages in North America alone indicates an arrival date of at least 20,000 bp (J. Nichols 2001). 12$

13 There s more to it than archaeology Native American oral tradition often posits that groups were created where they currently reside. 13$