Beringia and the settlement of the Western Hemisphere
V V Pitul'ko, John F Hoffecker, E.Y. Pavlova
March 2022
Abstract
Previously, we addressed the problem of what variable(s) limited widespread human settlement of the Americas before ~15 ka. We concluded that while non-modern human taxa (e.g., Neanderthals) probably did not inhabit high-latitude environments (due to cold climate and/or low plant and animal productivity) and thus could not disperse in the Western Hemisphere via Beringia, modern humans likely were denied access to mid-latitude North America >15 ka by coastal and interior ice sheets. Here we reexamine the problem with respect to modern humans in light of a revised chronology for glaciers and sea level, new research in paleo-genomics, and some new archaeological discoveries. During 35-30 ka, a lineage with west Eurasian roots occupied the Great Arctic Plain (GAP) and may have expanded into eastern arctic Beringia and mid-latitude North America via an ice-free corridor. An East Asian lineage associated with microblade technology occupied the Lena Basin during the LGM and expanded onto the GAP >15 ka, possibly as early as the GI 2 interstadial (24-23 ka). Their immediate descendants probably occupied the southern Bering Land Bridge and NW Pacific coast >15 ka and dispersed widely in the Western Hemisphere during GI 1 (14.5-12.9 ka), primarily if not exclusively via a coastal route. Glaciers blocked the interior route >15 ka and either blocked or severely limited interior access to mid-latitude North America during the GI 1 interstadial.
https://www.researchgate.net/publica...ern_Hemisphere
V V Pitul'ko, John F Hoffecker, E.Y. Pavlova
March 2022
Abstract
Previously, we addressed the problem of what variable(s) limited widespread human settlement of the Americas before ~15 ka. We concluded that while non-modern human taxa (e.g., Neanderthals) probably did not inhabit high-latitude environments (due to cold climate and/or low plant and animal productivity) and thus could not disperse in the Western Hemisphere via Beringia, modern humans likely were denied access to mid-latitude North America >15 ka by coastal and interior ice sheets. Here we reexamine the problem with respect to modern humans in light of a revised chronology for glaciers and sea level, new research in paleo-genomics, and some new archaeological discoveries. During 35-30 ka, a lineage with west Eurasian roots occupied the Great Arctic Plain (GAP) and may have expanded into eastern arctic Beringia and mid-latitude North America via an ice-free corridor. An East Asian lineage associated with microblade technology occupied the Lena Basin during the LGM and expanded onto the GAP >15 ka, possibly as early as the GI 2 interstadial (24-23 ka). Their immediate descendants probably occupied the southern Bering Land Bridge and NW Pacific coast >15 ka and dispersed widely in the Western Hemisphere during GI 1 (14.5-12.9 ka), primarily if not exclusively via a coastal route. Glaciers blocked the interior route >15 ka and either blocked or severely limited interior access to mid-latitude North America during the GI 1 interstadial.
https://www.researchgate.net/publica...ern_Hemisphere