Entering America: Northeast Asia And Beringia Before The Last Glacial Maximum

Where did the first Americans come from and when did they get here? That basic question of American archaeology, long thought to have been solved, is reemerging as a critical issue as the number of well-excavated sites dating to pre-Clovis times (14,000 to 13,000 years ago) increases. Because a continental glacial or ecological barrier was in place from 24,000 to 15,000 years ago, a coastal migration route is often posited. Yet an ice-free coastal route did not open much earlier, and there is little direct evidence to support such a hypothesis.

A viable alternative is that small populations of human foragers entered the Americas prior to the creation of this barrier. The archaeological and paleoecological aspects of a post-glacial entry into the Americas have been well studied, but there is little information available on the possibility of a pre-glacial entry.

Entering America seeks to fill that void by providing the most up-to-date information on the nature of environmental and cultural conditions in northeast Asia and Beringia (the Bering land bridge) immediately prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. Contributors consider a number of topics, including pre-LGM environmental conditions, models for population expansion, genetic and archaeological evidence, Clovis technology and its derivation, and human occupation of northeast Asia.

Because the peopling of the New World is a question of international archaeological interest, this volume will be valuable to specialists and nonspecialists alike.