IV.

Earliest Migrations

Evidence of human migration indicates that the first peoples to cross into the Americas, coming from north-eastern Siberia into Alaska, were carrying stone tools and other equipment typical of the middle and end of the Palaeolithic period of the Stone Age. These peoples probably lived in bands of about 100, fishing and hunting herd animals such as reindeer and mammoths. They were probably nomads, moving camp at least several times each year to take advantage of seasonal sources of food. It is likely that they gathered each summer for a few weeks with other bands to celebrate religious ceremonies and to trade, compete in sports, gamble, and visit one another. At such gatherings, valuable information could be obtained about new sources of food or raw materials (such as stone for tools). Such news might have led families to move into new territory, eventually into Alaska and then farther south into the Americas.

Evidence for the earliest migrations into the Americas is scarce and usually not as clear as archaeologists would wish. Evidence from the comparative study of Native American languages, as well as analysis of some genetic materials, suggest that these earliest migrations may have taken place around 30,000 years ago. More direct evidence from archaeological sites places the date somewhat later. For example, in the Yukon, in what is now Canada, bone tools have been discovered that have been radiocarbon-dated to 22,000 bc. Campfire remains in the Valley of Mexico, in central Mexico, have been radiocarbon-dated to 21,000 bc, and a few chips of stone tools have been found near the hearths, indicating the presence of humans at that time. In a cave in the Andes of Peru, near Ayacucho, archaeologists have found stone tools and butchered animal bones that have been dated to 18,000 bc. A cave in Idaho, in the United States, contains similar evidence—stone tools and butchered bone—dated to 12,500 bc. In none of these sites do distinctive American styles characterize the artefacts (manufactured objects such as tools). Artefacts having the earliest distinctive American styles appeared about 11,000 bc and are known as Clovis stone blades.