Late Pleistocene exploration and settlement of the Americas by modern humans.

abstract

• North and South America were the last continents to be explored and settled by modern humans at the end of the Pleistocene. Genetic data, derived from contemporary populations and ancient individuals, show that the first Americans originated from Asia and after several population splits moved south of the continental ice sheets that covered Canada sometime between ~17.5 and ~14.6 thousand years (ka) ago. Archaeological evidence shows that geographically dispersed populations lived successfully, using biface, blade, and osseous technologies, in multiple places in North and South America between ~15.5 and ~14 ka ago. Regional archaeological complexes emerged by at least ~13 ka ago in North America and ~12.9 ka ago in South America. Current genetic and archaeological data do not support an earlier (pre-17.5 ka ago) occupation of the Americas.

authors

• Waters, Michael

published proceedings

• Science

altmetric score

• 210.516

author list (cited authors)

• Waters, M. R.

citation count

• 80

complete list of authors

• Waters, Michael R

publication date

• July 2019

publisher

• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)  Publisher

published in

• Science  Journal

keywords

• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Asia
• Emigration And Immigration
• Gene Flow
• History, Ancient
• Humans
• Indians, North American
• North America
• Siberia
• South America

PubMed Central ID

• 31296740

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1126/science.aat5447

start page

• 138

end page

• +

volume

• 365

issue

• 6449

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aat5447