The Land Bridge Theory Of Peopling Of North America

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The Land Bridge Theory of Peopling of North America

In the recent past, historians, scientists, and archeologists have intensively debated about

how and when the first humans came to America. There are several theories that have been

postulated to explain the human habitation of the New World which is regarded as the great

habitable landmass to be ever occupied by humanity. Today, it is believed that the continent of

North America has been inhabited by humans for over 16,500 years. The debate of origin of

humans in North America dates back to as early as the 1500 century when Europeans and early

settlers thinkers started growing interest in explaining how people had come to populate the

Americas. One theory proposed that the migration of Norsemen across Greenland into North

America while another theory suggested the island of Atlantis as the cradle of human existence

in North America. There is another theory that proposed that the first humans in North America

generated out of the mud. It was until the early 1800 century that theorists and scientists started

to deliberate the chance of a land bridge that had stretched between North America and Asia

thousands of years ago. Among the various theories that attempt to explain the origin of human

life in North America, the most probable theory is the Land Bridge Theory due to existing

archeological and scientific evidence that second fundamental claims of the theory.

The Land Bridge Theory postulates that North America was populated by people crossing

from Siberia to Alaska. The theory was conceived in 1590 and has been generally accepted since

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the 1930s. The proponents of this theory envisioned Beringia, a region that included the now

submerged land bridge that connected Siberia and Alaska. Growing archaeological evidence

indicates that bands of hunters and gatherers from Asia tarried in Beringia for thousands of years.

Archaeological evidence reveals that humans did not survive the last ice age’s peak in

northeastern Siberia. On the other hand, there is no evidence that humans had reached Alaska or

the Americas during this period. However, archaeological evidence shows that northeastern

Siberia was inhabited by humans during a warm period which is thought to be around 30,000

years ago prior to the last ice age.

Archaeologists’ evidence points out that the Bering Land Bridge was the central most

part of Beringia and could have reached to 600 miles wide. The claim is backed by the evidence

from sediment cores drilled into the submerged landscape from adjacent areas in Siberia and

Alaska (Bonatto and Salzano 1867). Beringia, as explained by researchers, is dominated by

dwarf shrubs including birch and willow which grew a few centimeters tall. Archaeologists have

also found evidence that Beringia supported a specific group of beetle species that live in shrubs

tundra habitats and can be found today in Alaska. These beetles survive in a specific range of

temperatures thus backing the theory’s claim that Beringia was a refuge to flora and fauna.

Another indicator that archaeologists have used to advance the theory is the presence of

shrub tundra which could support elk and other small mammals (Bonatto and Salzano 1869). The

wood and the bark of the shrub could be burned to keep humans warm by burning large mammal

bones. Archeologists have excavated charred remains of leg bones which have been also found

in other ancient hearths around the world. According to historians, it is the warmth from the fire

that kept intrepid hunters and gatherers alive through the bitter winter nights.

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One of the prolific biological anthropologists who helped spread the Land Bridge Theory

is Emoke Szathmary and Nancy Ossenberg. The dual during the 1970s suggested that phenotypic

and genetic remembrance of two modern-day Native American groups. According to them, the

two groups had emerged when various founding populations exchanged genes while living in

Beringia (Szathmary, Ossenberg and Clabeaux 693). Brazilian scientists in 1990s further

supported the claim by hypothesizing that people who became the Native Americas could have

settled and diversified in Beringia and built up genetic diversity before inhabiting the Americas

(Meltzer 560).

A researcher carried out by Estonian geneticists Erika Tamm and colleagues found out

that a trove of mitochondrial DNA which is passed from mother to child greatly varied between

the Native Americans and the Asians. However, upon reading the work of the Brazilian

scientists, particularly the idea of Beringian layover, they concluded that their findings fit with

the patterns they had observed. Under Beringian standstill, it is argued that people leaving Asia

had sojourned in Beringia thus isolating themselves from their ancestors for a very long time that

their mitochondrial DNA evolved new variations which are observed among their descendants in

Americas (Raghavan, Steinrücken, and Harris).

It is further believed that Asian emigrants could have reached Beringia before the full

brunt of the Last Glacial Maximum which lasted from 27,000-19,000 years ago. When they

arrived in Beringia there movement was blocked by huge ice sheets (Laurentide and Cordilleran)

hence they could not venture into North America immediately. Tamm’s hypothesized that Asians

remained isolated for up to 15,000 before they were able to progress to the east.

Additionally, expounding the notion of a standstill sheds more light on the origin of

human life in the Americas as postulated by the Land Bridge Theory (Szathmary, Ossenberg and

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Clabeaux 670). Malhi and his colleagues carried out a genetic research on four prehistoric

people. One of the fossils was believed to be more than 10,000 years old thought to have lived in

Alaska and along the coast of British Columbian. It was discovered that the DNA traits of the

prehistoric fossils had DNA traits of the northern lineage of the Native Americans. Today, the

people of this lineage can still be found in the region. Malhi explained that the possible lineage’s

appearance is these humans existed in Beringia.

Moreover, the archaeological evidence from the Bluefish Caves in Canadian Yukon

validates the ideas of Land Bridge Theory. A group of researchers working on this site between

the 1970s and 1980s excavated animal bones that exhibited signs of human butchering. This was

a remarkable discovery and the modern scientists have developed sophisticated techniques such

as radiocarbon to prove that people’s occupation of Beringia could have been as early as 24,000

years ago (Szathmary, Ossenberg and Clabeaux 672). Most scientists hold that if this account is

confirmed, it will provide strong scientific evidence that people actually existed in Beringia

during the Last Glacial Maximum.

Other archaeological evidence indicates that humans lived on the other side of Beringia.

The proponents of this notion use the Paleolithic sites found on the Yana River in northern

Siberia to support their claims. Among the artifacts that have been found on Yana River include

huge ivory objects such as a tusk that had been sharpened to make a spear. According to the

Russian Academy of Science, the artifacts date backs to 21,000-24,000 years ago (Raghavan,

Steinrücken, and Harris). The dates confirm that humans did not abandon Beringia even during

harsh climatic conditions.

Given the complex nature of human movement and gaps in the various theory of the

origin of humans in the New World, theorist has come up with new theories to close various

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gaps. One of such theories is the Seafaring Theory which is mainly supported by evidence of

human existence in Chile as early as 14,500 years ago. The proponents of this theory hold that

Beringia was flooded by rising sea levels before the occupants could move to Alaska. However,

this theory rivals the Land Bridge Theory on the mode of transport used to cross to the New

World by suggesting that the land bridge could not be the only route to Americas. Consequently,

the seafaring theory proposes that people human must have ferried themselves on boats at least

part of their journey to Americas. Given the fundamental arguments of Seafaring Theory regards

mode of movement, the theory can be viewed as a subset of Land Bridge Theory. Specifically,

Seafaring Theory only hypothesizes a situation where Beringia was flooded before humans could

cross into Alaska. Since the theory does not attack or invalidate the central claims of the Land

Bridge Theory, it can be therefore said that the Land Bridge Theory is superior to Seafaring

Theory.

Further, the Cook expeditions authorized by the Peter the Great, the Russian Czar

between 1682 and 1725 indicates the possible existence of humans in Beringia. During the

voyages and interaction with locals living on the Chukchi Peninsula, Bering who was heading

the expedition confirmed that the locals were aware of a land that once existed and people used

to cross the water. Bering concluded that trading and traveling across the Bering Strait could

have been happening for thousands of years before Beringia became submerged in water. In the

1778 expedition, Cook prepares maps of the Alaska coast and suggested that Bering Strait region

could have existed thousands of years ago (Tamm, Kivisild, and Reidla). The Bering and Cook

expeditions confirm that the Land Bridge Theory’s claims have a historical basis and the

migration to the Americas could have occurred along the strait.

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Indeed, the Land Bridge Theory is the only theory of the origin of human life in North

America that has been widely accepted and most researched. The initial definitive archaeological

evidence that has found evidence of people beyond Beringia and interior of Alaska dates around

13,000 years ago. Archaeologists refer to these people as Paleoindians. The genetic study of

Paleoindians reveals mutations in mitochondrial DNA that have been found in Native Americans

but absent in the Mal’ta remains. This gives evidence to the account of two isolated populations

from the Siberia mainland.

In sum, there are numerous theories of the origin of human life in the Americas.

However, the Land Bridge Theory stands out among the other theories. Backed by

archaeological evidence and genetic studies, the Land Bridge Theory offers the best account of

how humans migrated from Siberia to Alaska thousands of years ago. Further, other theories

such as the seafaring theory accept the claims of the Land Bridge Theory but differ on the mode

of movement at some point. Given the increasing focus on the emergence of humans in

Americas, the debate is likely to continue till archaeologists and scientists stumble on a site that

holds undeniable evidence of human presence in Beringia or a group of people with DNA that

shows initial signs of genetic isolation is found. This is likely to happen someday hence making

the Land Bridge Theory the undisputed theory of the emergence of humans in the Americas.

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Work Cited

Bonatto, Sandro L and Francisco M Salzano. "A single and early migration for the peopling of

the Americas supported by mitochondrial DNA sequence data." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S

A (1997): 1866-1871.

Meltzer, David J. "Peopling of north America." Developments in Quaternary Sciences 1 (2003):

539-563.

Raghavan, Maanasa, et al. "Genomic evidence for the Pleistocene and recent population history

of Native Americans. Science." (2015).

Szathmary, E, et al. "Are the biological differences between North American Indians and

Eskimos truly profound?" Curr Anthropol (1978): 673-701.

Tamm, Erika, et al. "Beringian standstill and spread of Native American founders." PLoS One

(2007).

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