ABSTRACT
Geological and archeological research indicates that humans first colonized the Americas with the use of watercraft along the southern coast of the Bering Land Bridge and the western coast of the Americas. Early dates from a number of archeological sites in the Americas indicate human colonization of the Americas began prior to ca. 13,000 BP. A review of archeological sites in eastern Beringia identifies several distinctive cultural traditions which had developed by 11,000-10,000 BP. Geological, biological, linguistic evidence, and dated human skeletal remains all suggest human occupation of the Americas prior to ca. 11,500 BP. Glacial geology indicates colonization could have begun ca. 14,000-13,000 BP along the western coasts of the Americas and ended about 5000 BP with deglaciation of the Canadian eastern Arctic and coastal Greenland. The use of watercraft and coastal navigation prior to 11,000 BP are inferentially demonstrated. A model for early coastal and subsequent inland colonization of the Americas along large ecological zones best fits current geologic and archeological data.
