{"title":"An Anthropological Conception of the Initial Peopling of the Americas","authors":"Ruth Gruhn","doi":"10.1080/20555563.2023.2278948","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT A currently popular model of the initial settlement of the Americas proposes a very rapid occupation of both continents beginning with the initial entry in early postglacial times. Considering the ethnographic record of small-group hunter-gatherer adaptive skill and social networking, I argue that the peopling of the two immense and diverse continents must have been a slow process of local adaptation, and initial entry must have begun before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). After the LGM, the early populations that already had occupied both continents in low density expanded rapidly in the improved postglacial climatic conditions, with the resulting increase in archaeological sites creating the illusion of late and rapid peopling. Presently known pre-LGM archaeological sites are summarized, and discovery of more sites is to be expected.","PeriodicalId":37319,"journal":{"name":"PaleoAmerica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"PaleoAmerica","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2023.2278948","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACT A currently popular model of the initial settlement of the Americas proposes a very rapid occupation of both continents beginning with the initial entry in early postglacial times. Considering the ethnographic record of small-group hunter-gatherer adaptive skill and social networking, I argue that the peopling of the two immense and diverse continents must have been a slow process of local adaptation, and initial entry must have begun before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). After the LGM, the early populations that already had occupied both continents in low density expanded rapidly in the improved postglacial climatic conditions, with the resulting increase in archaeological sites creating the illusion of late and rapid peopling. Presently known pre-LGM archaeological sites are summarized, and discovery of more sites is to be expected.
PaleoAmericaEarth and Planetary Sciences-Paleontology
CiteScore
3.70
自引率
0.00%
发文量
15
期刊介绍:
PaleoAmerica disseminates new research results and ideas about early human dispersal and migrations, with a particular focus on the Americas. It fosters an interdisciplinary dialog between archaeologists, geneticists and other scientists investigating the dispersal of modern humans during the late Pleistocene. The journal has three goals: First and foremost, the journal is a vehicle for the presentation of new research results. Second, it includes editorials on special topics written by leaders in the field. Third, the journal solicits essays covering current debates in the field, the state of research in relevant disciplines, and summaries of new research findings in a particular region, for example Beringia, the Eastern Seaboard or the Southern Cone of South America. Although the journal’s focus is the peopling of the Americas, editorials and research essays also highlight the investigation of early human colonization of empty lands in other areas of the world. As techniques are developing so rapidly, work in other regions can be very relevant to the Americas, so the journal will publish research relating to other regions which has relevance to research on the Americas.