Pleistocene migration routes into the Americas: Human biological adaptations and environmental constraints

Abstract

Theories about the routes and timing of human entry into the Americas during the Late Pleistocene usually involve models of lowered sea levels and ice-free land in Beringia, supported by locations and dates of archeological sites in Northeastern Asia and Northwestern America. Recently, paleoecological reconstructions made possible by advances in geochronology and climatology have received attention. Now morphological adaptations and environmental constraints that affect human activities and physiology need to be considered. Physical accessibility to an area, important as it is, does not alone determine a migration route. In considering any route, anthropologists need to ask: What would it have been like to live in this environment? Did it provide an amenable climate that supported human health and comfort? Between 16,000 and 11,000 cal BP, did this route provide enough food resources and enough hours of sunlight for people with an Upper Paleolithic technology to make a living? We discuss these questions and show ways in which the coastal-entry model is superior to the interior route through Beringia and an ice-free corridor.