Graphic Organizer THE LAND BRIDGE THEORY Early people depended on Ice Age animals for food, clothing and shelter. After a climate change, early people followed Ice Age animals over a Land Bridge into North America. Over thousands of years they continued to migrate throughout the Americas. Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 1 of 9
Big Idea Card Big Ideas of the Lesson 6, Unit 1 Archaeologists are historians who study the cultures of the past especially the artifacts people leave behind. Archaeologists are trying to figure out who the first Americans were. Historians disagree about where the first Americans came from and how they got to the Americas. One theory is that the first Americans came over a land bridge from Asia over 12,000 years ago. New evidence has been discovered that has challenged this theory. Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 2 of 9
Word Cards 24 archaeologist social scientists that study ancient cultures through the examination of artifacts, buildings, and other remaining material evidence Example: Archaeologists study artifacts such as bones, tools, and old building sites. 26 theory (SS060306) an accepted explanation supported by evidence 25 artifacts material evidence from the past that are left for us to study Example: Old tools, dishes, and buttons are examples of artifacts. 27 oral tradition (SS060306) history that is passed down through generations by mouth Example: People have different theories about who the first Americans were. (SS060306) Example: Some Native American oral traditions say that Native Americans have always been here in the Americas. (SS060306) Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 3 of 9
PowerPoint Notes, page 1 1. What do you think the people in the photograph are doing? What do you think they are looking for? 2. What kinds of new evidence might cause historians to question the land bridge theory or parts of it? 3. How does evidence from the Topper site conflict with the Land Bridge Theory? 4. Draw a possible alternative migration route people may have taken into the Americas: Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 4 of 9
PowerPoint Notes, page 2 5. What kind of evidence could be used to prove the Pacific Coastal theory of migration into the Americas? 6. The First Americans Points of Disagreement among Points of Agreement among Historians Historians 7. Read the following origin story. Then, describe how it conflicts with the Land Bridge theory: Hopi Origin Story In the beginning, the Earth was covered with water. There were no animals or birds. Only spirits, gods, and goddesses lived inside the dark Earth. One day, the goddesses of the East and West decided to create a living creature. They made a bird from clay. The bird flew all around the Earth but could find no other life. Seeing how lonesome the bird was, the goddesses made humans to keep it company. At first, the people lived happily inside the Earth. After a while, however, the rains stopped, and the crops failed. People began to argue with one another. The worried chiefs decided the people needed to leave the Earth s dark inside. One leader found a ladder that led to a hole in the Earth s crust. The chiefs guided their people up the ladder to the Earth s surface. Once there, the people did not know where they should settle, so each chief set out in a different direction with his followers. They traveled east, west, north, and south until they found good land upon which they could grow crops and build villages. This is how it all began for the Hopis. How does this story conflict with the Land Bridge theory? Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 5 of 9
Discovery Cards Discovery Card #1 The Monte Verde Site An ancient site was discovered along a river in south central Chile in 1993. The site contained remains of shelters, stone tools, and preserved plants. Scientific tests showed the site was at least 12,500 years old and perhaps older. This site is located 10,000 miles south of Alaska and the Bering Strait. Discovery Card #2 The Bluefish Caves Site An ancient site was discovered in Bluefish Caves in Canada s Yukon territory. The caves are in an area that people from Siberia could have reached by crossing the land bridge. Stone and bone artifacts were found that indicate it was used as a campsite by early Americans. These artifacts were dated as being around 24,000 years ago. Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 6 of 9
Discovery Cards Discovery Card #3 The Santa Rosa Island Site The bones of a woman were discovered 40 years ago on Santa Rosa Island off the coast of California. New tests that were not available when the bones were first found have dated the bones as being about 13,000 years old. Historians believe this woman belonged to a group that probably did not hunt mammoths, but fished and gathered shellfish instead. Discovery Card #4 The Meadowcroft Site An Ice Age campsite called the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter was discovered in Pennsylvania. It included a number of objects that early people had left behind. Scientific tests showed the artifacts were 14,000 to 15,000 years old. A few were dated at being more than 19,000 years old. Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 7 of 9
Discovery Cards - Group Activity Sheet Directions: Review the information on the discovery cards. Compare it to what you have learned about the Land Bridge Theory. Then, complete the chart below. Site How does the evidence found at this site challenge the Land Bridge Theory? Monte Verde Bluefish Caves Santa Rosa Island Meadowcroft Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 8 of 9
Discovery Cards Possible Answers Directions: Review the information on the discovery cards. Compare it to what you have learned about the Land Bridge Theory. Then, complete the chart below. Site How does the evidence found at this site challenge the Land Bridge Theory? Monte Verde If people crossed the land bridge 12,000 to 13,000 years ago, how could they have traveled all the way to Chile by 12,500 years ago? Bluefish Caves If people crossed the land bridge about 13,000 years ago, how could there be artifacts that are 24,000 years old in a cave in Canada? Santa Rosa Island How could people be living on an island off the coast of California 13,000 years ago, when they were supposed to have crossed the land bridge about that time? Meadowcroft How could people be living in Pennsylvania more than 2000 years before the earliest people were supposed to have crossed the land bridge? Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum Page 9 of 9