ABSTRACT
Although it remains unclear when humans first reached the American continents, and some indigenous Americans posit that they have always lived in the Americas, most scholars believe that the forbearers of American Indians crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia at least 11,000 years ago, and possibly much earlier. Estimates vary widely as to the number of people inhabiting North America before European contact. Mexico, one of the most densely populated areas of the continent, is believed to have had from 20 to 40 million people. Calculating population in the area north of Mexico is even more difficult, with estimates generally ranging from 5 to 15 million, with most recent scholars tending to a figure towards the high end of the spectrum. North America’s population in the late 15th century was approximately half to four-fifths of Europe’s, and about four-fifths of South and Central America combined.
