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The First Americans
Unfortunately it is a myth that Christopher Columbus discovered America. He was one of the first Europeans to sail to the Americas and to attempt to colonize it. He was a good explorer and used innovative theories and
navigational techniques. But the truth is that humans were living in both North and South America for many thousands of years before he arrived.
The Americas was already home to millions of Native Americans who spoke thousands of different languages and live in various states of civilization and
technology. How did they get here and how long had they been here?
Scientists know that around 18,000 years ago the Earth was in the middle of an Ice age. Glaciers (huge ice sheets) covered most of Canada and a good bit of
the USA. They slowly shrunk, retreating northward and exposing land.
The most popular theory of migration to the Americas is that the Ocean levels shrank due to all of the water being consumed by ice (the glaciers). This meant that there were land
bridges where today there is open ocean water. One of these is Beringia, the area between Russia and Alaska. There have been many archeological finds in Alaska to
support this theory.
Many scientists and historians now believe that nomadic hunter-gatherers traveled between the melting ice fields to the present day area around Florida. Then they moved west, to the western United
States.
Eventually the humans would spread out over the 2 continents. We presume that they followed animals and eventually learned how to
grow a variety of crops
Another theory called the Pacific crossing, believes that people from the Area of New Zealand traveled on rafts like the one above to settle
in modern day South America.
Other theories have humans traveling by boat, but hugging the coastlines or the edge of glaciers. Some believe they came from
Europe, others from Russia.
Regardless of the exact route, DNA testing has found that the majority of Native Americans are closely related to people who live in
Northeastern Asia. This means that the Native Americans did indeed come from the area of Siberia/Kamchatka in Russia.
