On the Peopling
of the New World
Presented by: Kelly Phillips
Three Models:
1. Clovis First
2. Pacific Coastal Migration
3. Solutrean Origins
Clovis First
- Proposed in the 1960’s by Haynes
- Also known as “Bering Land Bridge Theory” and until recently has been the
accepted model
- Due to lowered sea levels during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) people were able
to walk from Siberia along a land bridge to North America around 11,500 BP
Why we know Clovis
was NOT first:
- For the Clovis First Model to be true, no site should predate 11,500 BP
- BUT, at least a dozen sites have been found that predate 11,500 BP
- The most commonly known of these being Monte Verde in south central
Chile which has conclusively been dated to 12,500 BP using stone
tools, wood tools, and fire pits
- People may have come over the “land bridge”, they were just not the
“first”
Pacific Coastal Migration
- Discovery of coastal occupations led Fladmark to this model in
1971
- Erlandson’s evidence: Daisy Cave 10,600 BP
Pacific Coastal Migration:
Problems and Responses
Two Main Problems:
1) Where is the proof of this seafaring technology and what route did they take?
2) Aren’t we looking for sites older than 11,500 BP ?
Responses:
1) Honshu, Japan 21,000 BP; Kelp Highway
2) If they existed they have been washed away…
Solutrean Origins
- First proposed by Jelinek; Now Stanford and Bradley
- Solutrean people of France and Spain (21,000 to 18,000 BP)
migrated to the Americas and subsequently became the Clovis
culture
- Most recent (and criticized) theory
Solutrean Origins:
Stone Tool Comparison
- Stone tool technologies have a precursor. If Clovis originated in Asia then we should
find it there.
- However, researchers have found no connection to date from collections in Eurasia,
Asia, or the Far East.
- Stanford and Bradley turned to Europe and found the similarities between Solutrean
and Clovis stone tools
Solutrean
Clovis
Solutrean Origins: Migration Route
- Atlantic ice rim that stretched from the Southwest coast of Ireland to the Grand
Banks off the coast of Newfoundland
What evidence is there of a seafaring
culture among the Solutreans???
- Environmental conditions of the LGM forced the Solutreans to look
to the sea for a new food source
- After becoming skilled fisherman they began traveling further and
further until they reached the New World
Solutrean Origin Critiques
- Glacial environment was not conducive to human existence
- No evidence that the Solutrean hunted deep sea fish or marine
animals
- No evidence of boats or the technology to build them
Solutrean Origins or Not,
East Coast Has Oldest Sites
Examples:
- Topper, South Carolina (20,000 BP)
- Meadowcroft Rock Shelter, Pennsylvania (19,000 BP)
- Cactus Hill, Virginia (15,000 BP)
What Do I Think???
- Solutrean Origins seems most plausible
- BUT, we still need more sites and more convincing evidence to be sure
- My solution: Could it be that both models are right?
Scholars should look for evidence that both migrations occurred
simultaneously instead of arguing who was “first”
Sources:
Bonnichsen R., Lepper B.T., et al.
2005
Paleoamerican Origins: Beyond Clovis. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas.
Bower B.
2004
Early New World Settlers Rise in the East. Science News 157:244.
Carey B.
2006
Ancient People Followed ‘Kelp Highway’ to America, Researcher Says. LiveScience.
Erlandson J. M.
2001
The First Americans: The Pleistocene Colonization of the New World. Anatomically Modern Humans,
Maritime Voyaging, and the Pleistocene Colonization of the Americas. California Academy of
Sciences, San Francisco, California.
Marshall E.
1990
Clovis Counterrevolution. Science 249: 738-739, 741.
Meltzer D. J.
1989
Why Don’t We Know When the First People Came to North America? American Antiquity 54:471-490.
Stanford D., Bradley B.
2002
The First Americans: The Pleistocene Colonization of the New World. Ocean Trails and Pacific
Paths? Thoughts About Clovis Origins. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California.
Straus L. G.
2000
Solutrean Settlement of North America? A Review of Reality. American Antiquity 65: 219-226.
Turner C. G.
2003
Three Ounces of Sea Shells and Once Fish Bone Do Not a Coastal Migration Make. American
Antiquity 68: 391-395.
Presenter and Mentor Information
Student: Kelly Phillips
Geography Major, College of Arts and Sciences
Mentor: Dr. Reid Ferring
Geography Department, College of Arts and Sciences