Peopling North America
ANTH 221: Peoples and Cultures of Mexico
Kimberly Martin, Ph.D.
How We Reconstruct
• Geography and Climate
• Physical Anthropology
– Genetics (Mitochondrial DNA, Y
Chromosome DNA)
– Anatomy
• Archaeology
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Stratigraphy
Seriation
Chemical dating methods
Technology
Lifestyles
• Cultural Anthropology
– Linguistics
Geography and Climate
• Pathways to the New World
– Coastal/Boat Migration
• Dates in South America too early for
land migration
• Australia populated 40,000 YA without
a land route
– Beringia Land Bridge
• Ice ages pulled water out of oceans,
sea levels dropped
• Lots of archaeological evidence in areas
consistent with Beringia
Coastal Migration Routes
• Southeast Asian, Japanese, Polynesian
and European boat building traditions
going back at least as far as 20,000
years ago (Japan)
• Boat building materials do not survive
• Evidence of coastal subsistence based
on marine mammals, fishing, shell-fish,
gathering rather than big game herding.
Coastal Migration Routes
• From Southeast Asia routes north along
coast and ice
• From Northern Europe (Scandanavia,
Britain) to Iceland to Greenland to
North America
– Clovis-Solutrean Hypothesis
Coastal
Migration
Routes
North Atlantic
North Pacific
Before 23,000
After 15,000 YA
Beringia Land Bridge
Connects Siberia and Alaska
McKenzie Corridor
Berengia Dates
Dates BCE
Beringia
38,00034,000
Accessible
(open)
34,00030,000
30,00022,000
22,00015,000
15,000today
Submerged
(closed)
Accessible
(open)
Accessible
(open)
Submerged
(closed)
Pacific
Coastal
Route
Open
Mackenzie
Corridor
Open
Open
Closed
Open
Open
Closed
Open
Open
Closed
E
DNA
Evidence
LGM = Last Glacial Maximum
20,000 Years Ago
A2, B2, Clb, Clc, Cld, C4c, Dl,
D4h3, X2a = genetic markers
that indicate a relationship
with the first migrants.
A2a, D2, D2a, Cla = mutated
genetic markers that evolved
in North America and were
carried back to Asia through
back-migration.
One ancestral population
between 42,000 and 21,000
YA
Physical Anthropology
African Male Skull
European Male Skull
Nasal root is depressed and the
nasal angle is obtuse.
Nasal aperture is broad from top to
bottom.
Lower part of the nostrils has a
bilateral gutter and there is no sill.
Upper dental arcade has a
somewhat rectangular shape.
Incisors in the upper jaw are bladelike
The face projects forward to a
mild to moderate degree.
•The nasal root is prominent
• The nasal angle is acute.
•The nasal spine is short
• Sharp lower nasal sill with a
very vague impression of
bilateral gutters.
• The upper dental arcade is
somewhat V-shaped.
•The incisors in the upper jaw
are blade-like.
Asian Male Skull
•The interocular distance is broad,
•The nasal angle is blunt rather
than sharp,
•The nasal aperture is broad from
top to bottom;
•The cheekbones are wide,
•The palate has a somewhat
rounded shape,
•The incisors in the upper jaw are
prominently shovel-shaped,
•No edge-on-edge incisal bite.
Physical Anthropology
Blade-shaped (left) incisors Vs. shovel-shaped incisors (right)
Dental Arch Variation
Some Archaeological Dates
• Clovis Culture (tools) 11,000 YA
• 16,500 – 13,000 YA Pre Clovis sites in
Pennsylvania and Chili
• TWO THEORIES
• Short Chronology - 15,000-17,000 YA
• Long Chronology - two waves of migration
– 40,000-21,000 YA w/ ancestors in South
America
– multiple waves more recently w/ ancestors
in North America
Language Affinities
Only One Linguistic
Relationship
Established at this
point:
RECENT FINDING THAT
THESE ARE RELATED:
• Ket, from western
Siberia (almost extinct
• Na-Dene languages -Athabascan tribes in
Alaska, Tlingit and Eyak
people, as well as Indian
populations in western
Canada and the
American Southwest,
including the Navajo
and the Apache.
Problems with Reconstruction
Lack of archaeological sites
Wide range of dates
Conflicting dates
Disagreement about the validity of
dates
• New technology in genetics
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