The migration of humans to the New World took place in the late Pleistocene epoch. There are three prevailing theories that describe how the first Americans entered the continents of the Western Hemisphere. One theory describes a route by foot across the Bering Land Bridge while the other two theories describe a maritime voyage closely following the coast. The maritime entry has gained credibility recently with closer examination of the geological and archaeological evidence. Some of these from coastal locations along both coasts of the Americas. One of these sites is located in an unexpected place, Chile. Archaeological data from Monte Verde in South America indicates a presence of humans at 14,600 B.P. This early date, earlier than most North American sites, fuels a hypothesis that the first people to settle Monte Verde came from the west, across the South Pacific Ocean as a possible fourth scenario of how people arrived in the Americas.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:honorstheses1990-2015-1930 |
| Date | 01 January 2010 |
| Creators | Gyurnek, Michael Anthony |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | HIM 1990-2015 |
Page generated in 0.0019 seconds