Peopling of the New World

Abstract

The peopling of the Americas was a process that unfolded over more than 15,000 years. Geological, archaeological, genetic, skeletal, and linguistic evidence reveal information about this process on different scales. The preponderance of the evidence points to humans migrating from Asia into Beringia by the Last Glacial Maximum (ca. 24,000 years BP), and to humans having settled in subglacial regions of the Americas by 15,000 years ago. Genetic evidence, and accumulating archaeological evidence, suggest that the ancestors for all native groups in the Americas diversified in Beringia. Geological and archaeological evidence strongly support that early movement into the Americas occurred along the Pacific coast and, later, through inland routes to reach subglacial regions. These people were linguistically and culturally diverse, and are likely to have rapidly developed technologies to adapt to local environments, driving further diversification.