Peopling the Americas
Name: KEY___________________________________________
Date: _________________________________
1) In the organizer below, explain the difference between the two major perspectives of the origins of First Peoples.
Perspective:
Aboriginal
Perspective:
Archaeology
Description:
Description:
First Nations people believe that they have always been
here; “time immemorial.” Creation stories explain how the
First Nations people arrived on the Earth.
Archaeological evidence suggests that people arrived in
the Americas sometime between 50,000 to 13,500 years
ago from Asia across a land bridge (located where the
Bering Strait is now) that connected Alaska to Siberia.
Experts cannot agree on the exact time this happened.
New evidence also suggests that the First People may
have arrived from other places as well including Europe,
crossing the ice sheets that covered the Atlantic Ocean
during the last ice age, and across the Pacific Ocean from
Polynesia.
2) Explain the three techniques archaeologists and anthropologists might look to in order to find evidence to support
the Archaeological Perspective of the origins of First Peoples.
Technique
Finding Artifacts
Description
Archaeologists look at the tools, utensils, and weapons used by prehistoric people to
determine how people from a past time might have lived. The construction of these
technologies can be compared to those of other past civilizations. Similar construction
methods from people in other parts of the world have been noted (Example: Solutrean
spear points found in France and Spain were made in a similar method to the Clovis
spear point found in North America that was too close in construction technique to be a
coincidence. These weapons had to have a common origin.
By testing to see how much carbon still exists in organic remains, the length of time that
has passed since that organic material died can be determined.
Radio Carbon Dating
Can be used to trace the origins of a person’s DNA to a common ancestor
DNA Analysis
3) Create an annotated timeline for the Traditional Archaeological Theory. Include the following sites (with annotated
explanations): Folson, New Mexico/Clovis, New Mexico/Monte Verde, South America/Cactus Hill, Virginia/Debert,
Nova Scotia. Be sure to include dates and explanations for each point on your timeline.
Cactus Hill, Virginia
Discovery dated spear
points to be about
16000 years old.
Discovery challenged
the Clovis First theory
Monte Verde, South
America
Discoveries there in the
1990s were thought to be
about 1000 years older
than Clovis suggesting
people arrived in the
Americas much earlier
than thought challenging
the Clovis first theory
Clovis, New Mexico (1935)
Spear points, name the Clovis point,
were discovered with the remains of
big game including mammoths,
camel, and giant bison.
RCD suggests the spear points were
11500 to 11000 years old.
This was the accepted theory of the
time people originally arrived in the
Americas until the 1990s.
Folsum, New Mexico
(1927)
A spear point was found
imbedded in the remains
of a Bison. Suggests
early humans relied on
big game.
RCD suggests the spear
point was 11000 to
10000 years old
Debert, Nova Scotia
A small season
hunting ground was
found.
Caribou blood on the
spear points suggests
they were about
10600 years old
4) What are Canada’s three Native Linguistic Families? In which linguistic family does the Mi’kmaw belong?
1. Algonquian (the Mi’kmaq belong to this language group)
2. Athapaskan
3. Eskaleut
5) Who was the Kennewick Man? Explain the major conflicts involving Kennewick Man.
The skeletal remains of the “Kennewick Man” were accidentally uncovered in the Columbia River in Washington
State. The remains were dated at 9200 years old. Computer modeling reconstructed what this person would have
looked like. Surprisingly, he looked of more European decent than Asian decent, which challenged the prevailing
Beringina land bridge theory as to how the First People arrived in the Americas. Anthropologists wish to study the
DNA of the Kennewick Man in order to learn of its ancestral origins. However, this idea was challenged legally by
First Nations people, and they claimed the remains as an ancient ancestor and wished the bones to be returned and
properly buried without further scientific study. The US Supreme Court ruled in favour of the First Nations claims
and all scientific research was halted.
6) What was a Clovis point? How might it link First Nations people to Europeans?
A Clovis point was a spear point that was discover in Clovis, New Mexico. It was determined that the spear point
was approximately 11500 to 11000 years old. At first the discovery supported the Beringina land bridge theory as no
further evidence was discovered that was older than the Clovis Point. However, as new evidence was uncovered, a
comparison of the Clovis Point to those made by the Solutreans in France and Spain. It was concluded that the
technology to make the Clovis spear point was too similar to be a coincidence. Discoveries of spear points found in
Asia, from the same time period, were not at all similar to that of Clovis. It was concluded that the origins of the
Clovis point was in Europe and that people must have migrated across the ice sheets covering the Atlantic during
the last ice age to North America.
7) What is a paradigm bias? How does it affect archaeological research on the origins of First Nations people?
Believing something to be so true that you are unwilling to consider any other possibilities. Archaeologists believed
that the Beringina land bridge theory explained how people arrived in the Americas to such a degree of uncertainty
that they were unwilling to look further for new evidence that might not support the idea or consider any other theory.
Any evidence that was found to suggest the possibility of different migration routes to the Americas was dismissed.
8) Complete the following table:
Archaeology
Linguistics
Physical Anthropology
The discovery of spear points and
fossilized animal remains with pear points
in New Mexico, Virginia, South America
The linguistic diversity that exists
between languages/dialects spoken in the
Americas could possibly have taken up to
50000 years to develop.
The analysis of bones from archaeological
sites in the Americas. Monte Verde,
The First Peoples inhabited the Americas
16000-12500 BP
It would take over 50000 years to
populate the Americas from one ancestor
language alone.
The bone structure of the early people in
the South and Central America is more
similar to the Ainu of Japan, Europeans,
and Polynesians.
Many Archaeologists developed a paradigm
bias in favour of the Beringia theory as a
result of the available evidence.
This theory raises doubt on whether
people came from somewhere else as the
timeline for language diversity predates
the land bridge by thousands of years. It
also supports the creation stories that
people didn’t come from somewhere else
they have always been here (Time
Immemorial)
People may have arrived in different parts
of the Americas through different
methods. i.e. Atlantic coast from Europe,
west coast of South America from
Polynesia
Evidence
Argument /
Position
Implications/
Questions
Raised
9) Complete the following table on the three different theories of how First Nations people originally arrived in the Americas
Route
Dates
13 50050 000 years
ago
Locations/ Sites



Cape Prince of Wales
Cape Dezhnev Siberia
Beringia (grassy plain)
Land
Physical evidence





16 800 BP


Pacific
Crossed pacific to South
America
Monte Verde Chile and
Tiam-Tiama Venezuela



16 500- 22 000
years BP
Atlantic


Clovis New Mexico
Spain



Debate over theory
Ice Age
Geological evidence
Similar fossils on both
continents (Asia and North
America)
Spears for big game found
that suggests people would
have followed the herds
North American Aboriginals
linked to Siberians

Fossil evidence of sea and
land mammals found on
Northwest coast of South
America- older than any
North American site
Genetic characteristics of
South Americans shared
with Polynesian and
Australian people

little archaeological
exploration of the area
because it was thought to
be covered by glaciers
Little evidence to suggest a
connection between Clovis
and Asian stone technology
Clovis spear points are
similar to Solutrean points
found in Spain
Genetic marker present in
some Aboriginal and
European people that is not
present in Asian people

Created debate over the
possibility of a transatlantic
crossing so long ago
No archaeological evidence
along an ice free corridor
along the Rocky Mountains.
 Unlikely that there was an
ice free corridor until
13 020
 Stone tools found along
pacific coast dated at
10 200 years ago