Mark Schreiner's CU

The Peopling of the Americas:
How Man First Arrived in the New World

Mark Schreiner

Academic Setting

This unit will be used at Alamosa Elementary School, a part of the Albuquerque Public Schools. The lesson has been created to be used in a special education class of third, fourth and fifth grade students. The students in this program have been diagnosed with a variety of disabilities ranging from anxiety and bipolar disorder to compulsive/obsessive disorder and schizophrenia. The one disability all of the students share is that of being emotionally disturbed. All of the students assigned to this particular classroom have been transfers from other special education programs. These transfers have been initiated by issues such as behavior, compatibility, program availability or simply assuring the students are given the best appropriate placement.

            These students can be described as high ability, low performance. Because of the students’ behavior, emotional state or frustration levels, they have seldom been challenged in an academic setting. This lack of challenges has given the students low self-esteem and feelings of incompetence and failure. This lesson will attempt to reverse such negative feelings by offering the students a challenging, high-interest lesson with unique experiences.

            As to the lesson itself, a number of freedoms have been taken. Lessons should be limited to 20-minute periods. While the class is of a high ability, their attention span is limited. After that time some members of the group may “shut down” and you will need to redirect the class. A second freedom taken is I have limited the amount of detail to be presented in class. The nature of the students in this program requires a unit with momentum, not a class heavy with detail. I feel that if the students from this classroom come away with an understanding of the concepts presented rather than a memorized list of (albeit important) names, dates and places, I would feel the students have succeeded. A student without interest is a student who will not learn.

Context and Background

While the focus of this lesson is on the first people in the Americas I have chosen to introduce the lesson by speaking about the Vikings or more properly the Norse. My reasoning for this choice is multifold. First, students at an elementary level have a greater interest and more background knowledge of the Norse than they have of the nomadic hunters who first crossed the Bering Land Bridge. By beginning the lesson with a high interest topic, I hope to continue that interest as the focus of the lesson changes. Secondly, while many students do have prior knowledge of the Norse, it is hoped they will leave the lesson with a fuller picture of these Scandinavian sea people and view them as more than just raiding warriors. A third point to be made is that the Norse may have truly been the first explorers to reach the New World. While it is true that Asians crossed the Land Bridge to the Americas 12,000 years prior to the Norse arriving, those Asians were unaware they had entered an new, uninhabited land. Those first people to enter the western hemisphere were merely following game animals. The Norse, on the other hand, were motivated solely by curiosity, a curiosity of what lay beyond the horizon.

      As the 10^th century drew to a close, Europeans first sailed west into unknown territory. Led by Erik the Red, they journeyed from Iceland into the fog-shrouded seas. What the Norsemen found was the world’s largest island, Greenland. Named for its rich grasslands, Greenland also offered fish-filled oceans. It was a land ready for colonization. Successive groups followed Erik the Red’s initial voyage bringing with them cattle, sheep, and families. A number of settlements were established on Greenland but the Norseman continued to push westward. They soon became the first Europeans to land in North America and even founded a settlement on Newfoundland, a large island of eastern Canada.

While the Newfoundland settlement, known as L’Anse aux Meadows, is the only recognized Norse site in North America, there is much to let us believe the Norse were more widespread. First, the Norse did not go west in search of an eastern passage or gold as did other Europeans 500 years later. Rather, they were almost an idealist form of explorer, searching the unknown for its own sake. Secondly, if one buys the “idealist explorer” view, it is highly unlikely the Norse would sail from Greenland to Newfoundland without first exploring Baffin Island or Labrador, which lies between them. Further evidence of Norse contact with North America comes from the native peoples known as the Inuit. Many Norse artifacts come to us from Inuit sites such as metal pieces (the Inuit did not process metal), cloth, tools, and so forth. Finally, there is the tantalizing, if unsubstantiated evidence, of other settlements (Ungava Bay), a Norse coin from the 11^th century found in Maine, and even a claimed rune stone “found” in Minnesota.

Just a the Norseman of the 10th century sailed east, with no goal in mind other than to see what was across the horizon, so too did the first people to travel westward over Beringia, the once dry land bridge that connected Asia and North America. What motivated these first travelers to the New World was simply chasing game animals across the next hilltop.

            Norse explorers used ocean-going long boats equipped with sail and oar to cross the North Atlantic carrying with them family, livestock and supplies. The Norse found their new settlements livable but the great distances from their homes, little of material value to be found (lumber appears to have been the only item they exported), and trouble with native people (one of Erik the Red’s sons was killed by a local native) soon found the Norse abandoning Newfoundland and returning to their homes in Greenland and Scandinavia (Fagan, 1991).

How did the very first people to explore the New World get here? And when? Over the last 2 million years, the earth’s temperature has experienced great fluctuations. Extremely low temperatures that have resulted in over twenty “ice ages” illustrate these fluctuations. These ice ages have covered much of the northern hemisphere with great sheets of ice, at times as much as two miles thick. To form such ice sheets huge amounts of water is extracted from the earth’s oceans. With so much water being displaced large tracts of land that were once sea bottom was exposed as dry land.

            What caused massive amounts of water to be pulled from the world’s oceans into great sheets of ice covering much of the northern continents? Obviously it was because the climate’s temperature was lower. But, what are the reasons or causes for the drop in temperature? Also, since the earth has experienced multiple “ice ages,” it must have experienced a corresponding number of rises in temperature. What caused such ranges in temperature?

Scientists have yet to agree upon a single conclusion on why the planet experiences such fluctuations in temperature. Several theories exist. One theory is that the earth has been cooling over tens of millions of years. This would explain why glaciers form, but not why they recede. A second set of theories proposes continental drift and mountain formation contributes to the world’s climate. While it is true land formations contribute to weather patterns, geological changes in regards to continental drift and mountain formation are slow and minuscule taking millions of years and could not account for “ice ages” that take place over thousands of years.

Another theory regarding causes of glaciation is the “Greenhouse Effect.” A greenhouse is an all glass structure that allows natural sunlight into a building, trapping the heat from the sun. Found at plant nurseries throughout the world, greenhouses allow horticulturists to grow plants year round regardless of the local climate. Inexpensive to operate, the heat is provided by the sun and regulated with vents. Many homes and public buildings now incorporate large glass windows to let in natural sunlight and resulting heat. Using the sun to light and heat one’s community saves on maintenance costs and helps to conserve natural resources. The “greenhouse effect” on the planet works much the same way. As the sun gives off energy in the form of ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light, both enter Earth’s atmosphere. As this energy passes through the atmosphere it is absorbed (particularly the IR energy) by gases already in the atmosphere (such as carbon dioxide, methane and water). These gases are suspended in the atmosphere by clinging to particles of dust and debris. Thus, the more debris in an atmosphere, the more gases that can latch on to them, and the more IR energy that can be absorbed. Energy not absorbed by suspended gases as it enters the earth’s atmosphere eventually reaches the planet’s surface. There it warms the surface causing the Earth to emit its own IR energy. This Earth-produced IR energy then rises toward space where it is further absorbed by gases in the atmosphere. All of this absorbed IR energy gives off a byproduct of heat. This “heat” helps to make the planet habitable. Today we are seeing a global rise in temperature. Many scientists say this rise in temperature is due to an excess of debris in our atmosphere, a byproduct from the burning of fossil fuels. Other scientists say the rise in temperature is part of a natural cycle. Regardless of the causes of the higher temperatures, the results we are seeing are a melting of the polar ice caps and the resulting rise in the ocean’s surface. If the current trend in rising temperatures continues, we will see a slow but massive flooding and inundation of coastal areas worldwide.

A fourth theory to consider regarding causes for glaciation is that of variations in the earth’s orbit around the sun and fluctuations of the earth’s own axis. Serbian astronomer Milutin Milankovitch was the first to recognize corresponding patterns in the planet’s orbit and extreme changes to the climate. Just as winter or summer is brought about by proximity of a hemisphere to the sun, periods of glaciation occur in much the same way, only to a more extreme extent. Milankovitch showed that the earth’s axis has varied from 22.5� to 24.5� (today’s tilt is 23.5�). With an axis at 24.5� the northern hemisphere is pulled further away from the sun. Combining the greater distance with the sun’s energy hitting the northern hemisphere at a greater angle, far less IR energy is absorbed. As we saw earlier, less energy means less heat and results in lower temperatures. In addition to variations in the earth’s axis tilt, Milankovitch also recognized that the earth’s orbit has been eccentric or irregular. When the earth is at its outermost point of orbit (furthest from the sun) there will be a correlating decrease in IR energy reaching the earth. When the earth is at its outermost orbit and combines with a greater tilt to its axis, the results are less energy reaching the earth and a correlating drop in the climate’s temperature (Schwarzacher, 1993).

The most recent ice age, also referred to as a period of glaciation, occurred 18,000 years ago. Known as the Wisconsin, named for the state where it was first identified, this ice age had a profound effect on the peopling of the western hemisphere or New World. As the Wisconsin glacier pulled water from the oceans, it lowered sea levels by approximately 200m (650 ft). Such low levels exposed the bottom of the Bering Strait to form a land bridge between Siberia and western Alaska. This land bridge was to remain for 8,000 years before disappearing under rising sea levels 10,000 years ago (Jennings, 1968).

Like all bridges, the Bering Land Bridge connected areas once isolated from one another. In the case of Siberia and Alaska this isolation included, in part, animal and plant species, and most significantly, humans. Recent studies of the Bering Land Bridge, now at the bottom of the Bering Strait, show that it once supported a complex environment of sand dunes, shrubs, and trees. As large areas of northern Siberia and Northern Alaska succumbed to glacial ice, the animals that once fed there were forced to search for new feeding grounds. The ice-free land bridge with its varied plant life began attracting animals from both hemispheres and they migrated between the continents. From Alaska, small mammals such as ground squirrels and woodchucks moved west into Siberia, followed by predators like the fox and wolf. From Asia, many large mammals crossed eastward across the bridge such as deer, bear, sheep and bison. The horse and mammoth also migrated to the Americas, but both were to die out in their new home, victims of climate changes and predation. The predators that traveled from Asia included wolverines, saber-tooth cats, lions and the most successful predator on the planet, man (Clairborne, 1972).

We have evidence from the fossil record of animals crossing these land bridges for millions of years. However it is only during the Wisconsin Ice Age, and the most recent appearance of the land bridge that we see evidence of man. Many researchers have claimed man came to the Americas as early as 200,000 years BP. The famed anthropologist Louis Leakey has claimed artifacts dating 200,000 years old from California. A French dig site, Pedra Furada, in Brazil claims evidence of man dating back 32,000 years. The problem with these two sites and all other sites that pre-date the Wisconsin Ice Age is a lack of supporting evidence. Perhaps more importantly anthropologists doubt man was technically capable of transgressing across the Bering Land Bridge prior to the Wisconsin Ice Age. There is reasonable doubt, based on archeological sites in Asia, that man had not yet evolved the tools and skills necessary to colonize new lands, especially lands in colder climates. Also, prior to the Wisconsin era, there was little need for Asians to migrate. Large numbers of game animals and a low human population gave little incentive to move into unknown lands.

When and how Asians first crossed Beringia into North America is unknown. After all, these early migrants left no written language or record of their journey. Dateable organic artifacts are unknown and the earliest evidence they may have left behind on Beringia or along coastal routes now lie hundreds of feet beneath the ocean’s surface.

            While we may lack a complete picture of how Man first came to the Americas, we have managed to put several pieces of the puzzle together to get at least a fair idea or the original events. One of these puzzle pieces is the study of human teeth or sinodonty. Sinodonty has shown us that the population of northeast Asia shares distinctive dental traits with Native Americans. These traits can be seen in part in three-rooted molars and shovel shaped incisors. In southern Asia, Africa, and Europe, dental traits show two-rooted molars and non-shovel shaped incisors. A further breakdown of sinodonty has led researchers to speculate there were three major migrations into the Americas. One wave eventually settled in South America and the lower reaches of North America. A second group settled in the interior of present day Alaska and down along the west coast of what is now the Pacific Northwest. The third group became the Aleut-Eskimos living along Alaska’s coastal regions (Dixon, 1999).

            To further the premise of three distinct migrations from Asia, researchers of Native languages (linguistics) have identified three distinct language types, one for each migration. Each wave can be identified with its correlating language. The language of the first wave, which reached down into South America, is called the Amerind. The wave from the Alaskan interior is known as Na-dene. And the last language group is the Eskimo-Aleut (Fagan, 1987).

            Other researchers have tracked DNA lineages and have identified four lineages found in all Native Americans. This has led to a variety of “scientific” interpretations that suggest a single migration group to as many as four separate groups or waves. As we have seen with dental traits and linguistic groups, DNA lineage can only offer conclusive evidence while lacking factual evidence or proof of how and when these migrations occurred (Dixon, 1999).

            As we can see, large, varied amounts of evidence cannot always provide clear or concise answers. The interpretation of evidence is often conflicting and controversial, if not outright confusing. Even if one were to examine artifacts or “hard evidence” left behind by ancient people, problems of interpretation still persist.

            An artifact can be described as any object made by of modified by man. Simply identifying a found item as an artifact can be difficult. A stone that has been struck and broken to produce a sharp edge does not make that stone a cutting tool. Early man would fracture large animal bones to get to the marrow inside of it. This does not make every fractured bone evidence of early man. Rock falls, weathering and carnivores have produced items often indistinguishable from artifacts produced by man.

            Many found items are clearly the work of man. Unfortunately, even these items have controversial issues. Artifacts such as arrowheads or axes tend to be manufactured in inorganic stone and are thus undateable with current dating methods. Bones and shell tools, which are organic, can be dated. However, those dates only reflect the age of the material itself, not the age of the tool.

            Before we look at the tools of Ancient Man and the issues of dating those tools, let us imagine the lifestyles of those first people to journey to the Americas. The word “imagine” is used with deliberation. As stated earlier, we lack hard proof of how early man behaved when he arrived and how he lived. But, with the evidence he did leave behind, we are able to conclude, speculate or guess how he did live.

            Biologically, we can be fairly certain man arrived from Asia. Physiological similarities, linguistic ties, and DNA ties all link the first Americans to Asia. Also, virtually all human remains of ancient Americans are those of Homo Sapiens (or modern man). Because the only human remains found in the Americas are those of modern man, who only developed >500,000 years BP, we can conclude man only arrived in the Americas in the last >50,000 years. As the only means of arrival for man was the Bering Land Bridge, and that bridge has only existed once in the last 50,000 years (18,000 to 8,000 years ago, to be precise), we can conclude man could not have arrived in the New World prior to the Wisconsin Ice Age.

            The first Asians to cross over the land bridge were not explorers searching for new lands. In fact, it is doubtful they were even aware that they were the first humans to enter the Americas. These first “Americans” were primarily big game hunters and as such their only concern was the tracking and killing of their prey. Despite much of the Northern Hemisphere being gripped by the Wisconsin Ice Age, much of the Bering Land Bridge remained ice-free. In spring and summer new plant life would attract the foraging big game the hunters sought, primarily mammoth, ancient bison, or caribou. As these animals foraged east, the hunters would follow. Come fall and winter, with their long Arctic nights and freezing temperatures, the large game animals would be forced further east in search of food or, reasonably, even migrate west back into Asia.

            Though meat from the large mammals these early people hunted made up a major portion of their diet, they were still able to enjoy a fair range of foods. The bird species of Beringia, much like the modern Arctic, was made up of geese, duck, ptarmigan (a type of partridge), and plover. Being ground nesters, these birds, as well as their eggs, made for an easy, if seasonal, meal. Just as plant life attracted the large hunted mammals, man was able to add berries, nuts, roots, and seeds to his diet. However, much like the fowl portion of his diet, collecting plants as food was random and relegated by the seasons. Those hunters who ventured along the southern coast of Beringia had access to a variety of foods from the sea. These included seals and walrus, fish, shellfish, and shore birds.

            The animals that these early Americans depended on for food were migratory, moving about great distances during the year. Plants, as a food source, were seasonal being available for only a few months of the year. This dependence on an unreliable food source forced these early people to go where the food was. As the animals moved, so too did the people. This situation required these hunters to be mobile and be able to carry all of their possessions when searching for food.

            Being a mobile people meant no settlements or permanent dwellings (as we saw with the Norse). Home for the group was a shelter made of skin and hide. These tent-like homes would be set up for anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on local food availability. By necessity these shelters were highly portable and could be set up and broken down quickly.

Clovis and Folsom Sites

Modern museums have collected thousands of ancient artifacts from across the Americas. These artifacts have come from hundreds of authenticated, recognized sites. These sites represent the earliest evidence of Man in the New World.

The oldest site offering proof of Man’s earliest record in the Americas is found at the Meadowcroft Rock shelter in Pennsylvania. Meadowcroft has clearly been occupied for at least 12,000 years (up until 700 years ago). However claims of an even earlier occupation set back occupation to as much as 30,000 years BP. A site located at Monte Verde, Chile in South America is at least 11,000 years old with claims it might date back 33,000 years.

            Two of the most studied sites of Early Man in the New World are located here in New Mexico, those being Clovis and Folsom. The first of these sites to come to light was Folsom. In 1908 several unusually large cow-like bones, along with some projectile points, were found along a dry arroyo by a ranch hand named George McJunken. McJunken carried the bones back to the ranch house where they stayed as a curiosity for 17 years.

            In 1925 two amateur naturalists, having met with McJunken, dug up some more bones from the original site. Recognizing the bones as coming from an extinct species of bison they contacted Jesse Figgens of Natural History. Figgens journeyed to the Folsom site in 1926 where he recovered more bones, stone tools and points. He associated the finding of extinct animal bones with human artifacts putting humans in North America at least 10,000 years BP. However, despite Figgens’ position at the Colorado museum and his expertise in his field, many of his colleagues questioned his findings. Figgens returned to the site a year later where he uncovered more artifacts. Leaving his latest find in place (situ) Figgens asked other archaeologists to examine and verify the newfound items. Among the items found was a projectile point clearly embedded in the ribs of an extinct animal (earlier finds had also contained extinct animal bones and points but it was questioned if they had been laid down together). This particular projectile point is significant in that it offers indisputable proof that humans co-existed with now extinct animals in North America. The projectile points found at the Folsom site were distinctive in shape and almost refined in workmanship. Several other sites with similar points have also been found and collectively they are known as the Folsom Culture.

While we may never have an exact age on the artifacts from the Folsom site, advances in dating technology continue to narrow the window on probable dates with the original site in New Mexico being approximately 11,000 years old. It is estimated that the people of the Folsom Culture existed between 11,000 to 10,000 years BP. The artifacts of the Folsom people pushed man’s presence in the Americas back to 11,000 years BP, far earlier than previous estimates. Would new dating techniques or new discoveries push that date back even further? That answer came about in 1932 near Clovis, New Mexico.

An amateur collector by the name of A.W. Anderson found some projectile points and mammoth bones eroding from the shoreline of an ancient, now dry, lakebed. Anderson shared his find with archeologist E B Howard. Howard examined what became known as the Clovis site several times over the following years.

            What Howard found was a history of the local people dating back thousands of years buried in the soil beneath his feet. As the first layers of dirt were removed, Howard found items belonging to modern American Indians, most of these dating only a few hundred years in age. Further excavation brought out the now familiar Folsom points and extinct bison bones. Accompanied by a geologist to verify that the soil layers had been undisturbed since they were first laid down, Howard began to uncover items from below the Folsom items.

           The items that now began to be recovered included mammoth bones and projectile points similar to the ones Anderson had first given Howard in 1932. These new points were larger in size than the Folsom points and of cruder handiwork. Because these points were distinct from Folsom’s, Howard knew he had unearthed a new culture. Of more importance, because this new find lay below the Folsom items, this new culture had to be older. What had become known as the Clovis Culture (supported by subsequent finds of similar artifact throughout the west) has been dated to 11,500 to 11,000 years BP.

            Despite decades of research and dozens of books on the Clovis and Folsom people, we really have very little factual knowledge. This lack of “factual knowledge” is a result of the limited artifacts we have of these people. With little more than a few stove tools and animal bones it is difficult, if not impossible, to present a detailed and structured picture of how these groups lived. What we have though is the ability to speculate, reconstruct, and conject. Imagination allows us to connect the dots, as it were, of the few hard facts we have. Connecting those dots provides us with an idea of how those ancient people may have lived. The problem lies in that if those dots are unnumbered, anyone connecting those dots could end up with a totally different, if equally plausible, picture (Dixon, 1999 and Fagan, 1987).

Tools

While only artifacts of stone or bone have survived from the first Americans, the complexity and diversity of those artifacts have given us great insight into their level of technology and ability. These artifacts have been found to be almost exclusively items of manipulation or purpose, items better recognized as “tools.” The development of tools is man’s response to his environment. For example, a thrown stick or rock can extend a man’s reach when hunting small prey. A spear may allow the hunting of larger prey. A thrown spear or dart can extend that reach even further while keeping the hunter out of harm’s way from the hunted. It does not take a great deal of imagination to see the sequencing of events in the hunting example. Each “new” tool is a result of something lacking in a previously existing tool.

Hunting Tools

Thrusting Spear:

Likely the original weapon man first carried across the Bering Land Bridge. As its name implies, it was hand-held and forced into the hunter’s prey. It was pulled out to protect the shaft and if need be, thrust into the prey again until it succumbed. The heavy thrusting spear was the weapon of choice for early hunters as their prey tended to be very large animals, such as mammoth.

Throwing Spear:

Lighter weight than its predecessor, these spears could be thrown at prey allowing the hunter to remain out of reach of the wounded, often dangerous animals. They required a straight, sturdy shaft to maintain accuracy of flight once they had been thrown. “Straight, sturdy shafts” were often manufactured by early hunters (see shaft wrench further on) and in short supply. To protect the shafts for future use, throwing spears were fitted with detachable projectile points. These detachable points served a dual purpose. First, once the point was embedded in the prey, the shaft would detach from the point and fall away, ready to be retrieved by the hunter for use again. A second advantage of a detachable point was that once the supporting shaft had dropped away, the point would embed itself deeper into the prey causing further internal damage and blood loss until eventually the animal weakened and died.

Spear Thrower:

The spear thrower, or atlatl, was a two piece weapons system consisting of a wooden handle or launcher and its accompanying dart or missile. The wooden handle in effect increased the length of the hunter’s arm providing greater velocity and striking force to the projectile. It also provided for a greater throwing distance and improved accuracy. The throwing dart was a cross between a large arrow and small spear. With the dart being thrown with greater striking force a smaller point was used decreasing the time spent on making points. Also, with darts being smaller than throwing spears it was now easier to manufacture the “straight and sturdy shafts.” The use of spear throwers is known throughout much of the pre-historic world. Evidence of atlatls in the Americas goes back only 8,000 years. We do not yet know if the atlatl crossed the land bridge with the first migrants or if it is an example of parallel invention, where similar items are developed independent and without knowledge of one another.

            Though highly accurate and of greater range than spears, it is unlikely atlatls were used against large animals such as mammoths. It is interesting to note that the atlatl may have first appeared in the Americas just as the main prey type changed from mammoth to seal, deer, or modern (smaller) bison.

The bola:

The bola consisted of two or more rounded rocks of uniform size. The rocks were tied together between lengths of heavy cord or leather. Thrown at the hunted animal, the idea was to injure the prey or ideally to entangle its legs in the cords. Obviously because of the entangling nature of this tool its effectiveness was likely limited to small deer, lamas, or birds.

Traps and Snares:

Traps and snares were an important development in that they allowed for the catching of a food source while freeing the trapsetter to pursue other game simultaneously. A downside would be a captured animal could be scavenged by another animal or ‘appropriated’ by another trapper.

Bow and Arrow:

Like the atlatl there is little physical evidence of the bow and arrow prior to 8,000 years BP. Also, like the atlatl, it may be another example of parallel invention. The most accurate of the thrown/airborne tools, the bow and arrow was also highly effective in close quarter situations where a throwing spear or atlatl were not (such as in hunting hare). The arrow was much smaller than the dart from the atlatl. The lighter weight gave the arrow diminished penetration power but more than made up for that with extremely high accuracy.

            Evidence of the utilization of the bow and arrow becomes more frequent in the archeological record as the type of prey available changed. As large animals such as mammoth or giant bison became extinct, hunting switched to smaller game like deer, fowl, hare, and modern (smaller) bison. A lighter weapon as is the bow and arrow was very effective with this type of food source.

Utility Tools:

Shaft Wrench:

For an arrow, dart or throwing spear to be of any use it needs to be accurate. The accuracy of such tools is dependent on a straight shaft. Finding long, straight pieces of wood for shafts is exceedingly rare. To resolve the problem of providing proper shafts, fairly straight pieces of wood were softened by holding the wood over a steam bath. Once the wood was pliable it was straightened using a shaft wrench.

The shaft wrench was a long animal bone (such as a leg bone) with a hole drilled into one end. The diameter of the hole would be slightly larger than the diameter of the shaft to be straightened. The heated, now softened wood would be drawn through the hole in the shaft wrench and manipulated to a usable straight shaft. Shaft wrenches came with various sized holes dependent on the width of the desired shaft.

Burins:

Burins are chisel-like tools used for grooving wood, bone, or anther.

Scrappers:

Scrappers were made from fractured animal bones. The fractured end was worked to provide a straight edge. It was used to remove (scrape) flesh away from the inside of animal hides, as they were prepared for use as clothing or shelter.

Awl and Punch:

Awls and punches were perforating tools used to pierce holes in hides to allow binding hides together.

Fish Hooks:

Fish hooks were made from carved bone or ivory.

Drills:

Drills were used to produce holes in stone or bone (such as the shaft wrench).

Pestles:

A pestle is a grinding tool used to break down seeds. Most seeds will pass through the digestive system without providing any nutritional value unless they are broken down prior to eating. These broken down seeds were commonly eaten in a gruel or soup mixture (Jennings, 1968).

Transportation

When man first crossed over Beringia, animals had yet to be domesticated. Without the benefit of pack or draft animals, movement across land was restricted to foot travel. There were no wagons or sleighs. Movement across water may have been very different.

While we have yet to find the remains of or evidence of boat travel along the beaches of Beringia, we do know that the technology of boat travel was firmly established in other parts of the world, including the Asian mainland. From this known fact that watercraft existed, it would not be unfair to suggest boats were used by the first Americans.

Kayak:

The kayak, still in use today, was originally a skin covered, one person, boat. Used for fishing and hunting its sealed design prevented water from entering the craft. Its small size and minimal drought made for access in shallow water and for portage over land. Momentum was achieved with oars.

Umiak:

If early man came to America by boat, he used the umiak. Made by stretching treated animal skins over a wooden framework, these boats could carry four to eight people or an equal amount of material. Unlike the kayak, the umiak had an open top which allowed rain or wave action to accumulate water in it. However, the umiak being able to carry multiple people, any accumulating water could be easily dealt with. Having little drought like the kayak, the umiak was well suited for beaching and portage over land. Its size and open top also provided for a quick and dry shelter when inverted on a beach. Like the kayak, manual oars also powered the umiak (Jennings, 1968).

            These examples represent only a fraction of the ancient tools we have found. As time progressed the types of tools we see grow more numerous and complex. Each new tool or modification of a tool was the result of demands by the environment and man’s response to it.

Dating Methods:

Tree Rings:

Also known as dendrochronology, the use of tree rings is the only dating method capable of providing a precise, exact year. Each year a tree produces a new outer layer of growth. Each annual growth adds a ring to the tree’s pattern. A fifty year-old tree will have 50 rings. Each ring will reflect the growing conditions of its year. A year of good weather and rainfall will produce a wide ring. A year with drought will have a much thinner ring.

            While the rings of a given tree only reflect the life of that tree, we can track weather patterns for hundreds, even thousands of years, by over laying the rings from several trees. For example, a tree that began growing in 1950 will have rings reflecting the last 52 years. A second tree may have lived from 1900 to 1970. Both trees should show similar patterns for the years 1950 through 1970. A third tree that grew from 1850 to 1920 will share rings with the second tree from 1900 to 1920. This pattern can be used so long as one has wood samples to compare. One not even need to know when a tree died to know when it fell. Simply compare its rings to a recorded ring pattern. Some drawbacks to this dating technique are some tree species do not produce annual growth rings because of growing or weather conditions.

Radiocarbon:

All living things, plants and animals, absorb carbon from the atmosphere. When a living thing dies it begins to lose an isotope called Carbon 14 (C14). C14 comes from the isotope Carbon 12 (C12), which does not decay. By measuring the levels of C14 to C12 we can get an estimate of an item’s age.

            Though the most common method used for dating ancient, organic items, it does have some flaws. First, as stated it can only date organic material. This is unfortunate as most prehistoric artifacts are of stone. Secondly, it cannot provide an exact age of an item. Ages of carbon dated items always require a + or – to represent a window for dating. Third, a bone tool may show a radiocarbon age of 4,000 years but that 4,000 years reflects the age of the bone, not the tool. A further draw back is that to date an item, part of that item must be burnt or destroyed to measure its C14 amount. While the amount lost may be minor, it does take a toll on very small artifacts. A fifth drawback is contamination from coal seams. Coal, which is carbon, can distort the age of an item’s true age. A final drawback is that C14 has not existed in uniform rates in the Earth’s atmosphere throughout history. At one time C14 existed in higher levels than presently so a radiocarbon date may be younger than an artifact’s true age.

Cross Dating:

Cross dating is based on where an item is found related to other artifacts. Because Clovis points were found beneath Folsom points, the conclusion is that the Clovis points must be older.

(All dating methods from Jennings, 1968)

Implementation

Goals and Objectives

Provide students with an understanding of how the western hemisphere was first settled by man.

Demonstrate to students an understanding of how pre-history events are arrived at by using modern archeological methods.

Show students how the study of the past is an ongoing process based not only on the discovery of new sites but more importantly on discovery of new methods of studying those sites.

Students will become proficient in use of personal computers. Specifically typing skills, layout, Internet use. Also, to include recognition of legitimate web sites for research and data collection.

Students will use creative and critical thinking skills through posting of hypothesis, defending hypothesis, and debate of peer and teacher-provided questions.

Students will develop a research paper and become familiar in research methods through accessing books, magazines, and Internet.

Individual speaking skills will be strengthened through class discussion and Q/A sessions.

Session One:

Begin by asking class “What do you know about the Vikings?” Class responses are listed on white board. Follow up with question “What do you want to know about the Vikings?” Questions and answers are written on board. If need be, the classroom instructor should introduce the term Norsemen. The discussion is then directed that the Vikings/Norsemen were primarily farmers who raised crops, cattle, and sheep. Referring to the attached narrative, it is explained to the students how the Norsemen were also explorers. (At this point of the lesson the instructor has the option to discuss with class and compare Norse exploration with that of later European voyages. The Norsemen were motivated simply to explore the horizon. Christopher Columbus by contrast had more specific goals in searching for a passage to the Far East.) Session One concludes with instructor telling class that “Though the Norse were the first explorers to come to the Americas, they were not the first people here. In fact, people had been here for 12,000 years before the Norse first sighted the shores of Newfoundland.”

During this first session students are directed to maintain a daily record of each session. Following each day’s lesson the teacher will review with each student. During these individual sessions the focus will be to guide and instruct the student in note taking. Over the following days these individual sessions will continue with a final focus on students preparing a paper prepared on a personal computer. While the instructor is conferencing with the individual student, the remainder of the class is to search out web sites related to the day’s topic. As with the daily lecture notes, students are encouraged to download information of interest to share with their peers.

Session Two:

Review of Session One. Review conducted by instructor asking specific questions on previous lesson. Class is asked, “Who were these people who came to the Americas 12,000 years before the Norsemen? How do you think they got here?” Responses are listed on the board.

Before confirming or correcting student responses, the class is instructed on glacier periods (refer to narrative). Glacier lesson enhanced through use of maps, hand-held globe and flashlights (to represent the sun). Class attention is directed on a map to the Bering Strait and how lower sea levels during periods of glaciations resulted in the formation of the Bering Land Bridge.

1.                   An optional class activity can be conducted at this point. Using a topographic map of the Bering Strait (Your map will need to include the sea bottom!) the class can construct a 3-dimensional relief map of the strait. After sealing the map with paint or varnish, the students can add water representing the sea to show how the bridge was formed and submerged.

2.                   As the narrative points out, while many atmospheric and orbital events often coincide with glacial periods, it is conclusion rather than proof that those events in fact are the cause of the ice ages.

Session Three:

Review previous session. Continue focus on Bering Land Bridge. Ask students, “Why was Beringia called a land bridge?” Write responses on board. Teacher leads class on discussing Beringia focusing on specific time periods and which animals crossed the Land Bridge (refer to narrative).

At this point of lesson explain to class it is believed man first crossed land bridge during the Wisconsin period. Emphasize this is conjecture based on where last land bridge existed (18,000 BP) and oldest confirmed evidence of man in the Americas (12,500 BP) (refer to narrative).

Session Four:

Field trip to New Mexico Museum of Natural History

This field trip should provide good background on how New Mexico appeared when man first set foot in the region.

Session Five:

Discuss with class different hypothesis on both methods man may have used in coming to the Americas (crossing land bridge on foot and/or by boat). Also, present differing hypothesis on number of ‘waves’ or groups that came east from Asia (refer to narrative).

Session Six:

Present archeological evidence of early man in the Americas (campsites and artifacts). Discuss methods used to date sites and artifacts (radiocarbon dating, taphonomy and situ). It is also important to emphasize difficulties archeologists face such as the Beringia Land Bridge and contemporary coast line now being submerged, scarcity of organic artifacts, intrusion of sites by erosion, animals, carbon contamination, etc.

Session Seven:

Field trip to Maxwell Museum at University of New Mexico – Albuquerque

Museum offers accessible displays on the evolution of man as well as excellent exhibits on man in the New World.

Session Eight:

Students are asked to imagine they are crossing over the land bridge. In their journals each writes a short, descriptive story of what they see and experience as they journey east.

Session Nine:

Focusing on New Mexico, class is given background on Folsom and Clovis sites. Students are made aware these are only two of hundreds of sites discovered but the significance of these two sites is stressed. The sites at Monte Verde and Meadowcroft Rock shelter and their significance should also be mentioned at this point. To what extent they are discussed is largely dependent on student interest.

Session Ten:

Discuss tools, their purpose, and manufacture with students. Instructor demonstrates flinting method and class has hands-on experience using atlatl. (See The New World by Earl Swanson from bibliography.)

Session Eleven:

Paleo-meal. Students eat meal ‘similar’ to hunter-gatherers. Meal consists of roasted bison, venison, and fish. Dried fish and jerky. Variety of fresh berries and wild onions.

Expanding the lesson.

After completing this lesson you may want to expand the lesson in a number of ways.

Look at diversity of cultures in Pre-Columbian America. Students can examine why there were such differences in cultures from the hunter-gatherers of the Palochis and Far North, the Mound Builders of the Mississippian and Ohio groups, to the great cities of the Olmec, Maya and Aztec.

Examine some of the unanswered questions of Ancient America. What happened to the Olmec or the Maya? Why were Pueblo Bonito (Chaco Canyon) and Mesa Verde abandoned? Is there evidence of northern migration?

What impact did early people have on the environment (Did man contribute to some animal extinctions?)?

Effect of population growth on new lands (trade, agriculture, conflict, etc).

Culture vs. Science. What type of impact has NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) had on advancing or restraining the study of ancient peoples?

Have students debate differences between an explorer and an adventurer. For example, compare Christopher Columbus to Thor Heyerdahl.

Optional field trips.

Field trip to Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Excellent examples of rock carving from Native Americans.

Field trip to Bandelier National Monument, Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Fine examples of cliff dwellings and pueblo structures.

Documentation

Bibliography

Anderson, Douglas. “A Stone Age Campsite at the Gateway to America.” Scientific American              June 1968.

Detailed look at an Alaskan archaeological site from 8500 years bp. Good resource for early Americans. Good source to teach parallel cultures with Old World sites. (See “Ice Age Hunters of the Ukraine.”)

Bancrost-Hunt, Norman and Forman, Werner. People of the Totem. London: Orbis Publishing,              1979.

      Beautiful coffee-table book illustrated throughout with colored photographs of artifacts from the Pacific Northwest tribes. Supported by a highly readable but informative text.

Bushnell, G. The First Americans. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968.

Small, compact and concise. Plenty of illustrations, many in color. Covers period from Wisconsin ice-sheets to Incas.

Clairborne, Robert. The First Americans. New York: Time-Life Books, 1972.

          Though dated (1972), book’s dependence on illustrations and maps makes it accessible even               to poor readers.

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel. New York, New York: W.W. Norton & Company,               1997.

           Compelling reading on why one culture “rises above” another. Good source for class discussions. (See Clash of Cultures.)

Dickinson, Mary, Ed. Wonders of the Ancient World. Washington DC: National Geographic                Society, 1994.

Typical of National Geographic, this book is lavishly illustrated with a decent text. Accessible to most students. About one quarter of the book deals with the New World.

Dixon, E. Bones, Boats and Bison. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1999.

Book has value in that it points out many of the contradictions, conflicts and arguments in the field of archaeology.

Fagan, Brian. Archaeology. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1978.

Little on the peopling of the New World but excellent one volume source on archaeology.

Fagan, Brian. Ancient North America. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1991.

    Though more academic than his book The Great Journey, still an excellent
     resource on archaeology in the New World.

Fagan, Brian. Clash of Cultures. New York, New York: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1984.

Good source for class following discussion on clash of industrial and “primitive” cultures. (See also Guns, Germs, and Steel.)

                   Fagan, Brian. The Great Journey. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1987.

           Fine book that explains not only what we know about ancient peoples but how that             knowledge was gained. Fairly objective book that offers several (and often conflicting) hypothesis with pro/con arguments. Covers North and South America.

Fitzhugh, William, Ed. Prehistohic Maritime Adaptaions of the Circumpolar Zone. Chicago:              Aldine, 1975.

Collection of academic papers dealing with prehistoric boats. Very good source for developing hypothesis with students regarding possible migration methods into the New World.

Fowler, Melvin. “A Pre-Columbian Urban Center on the Mississippi.” Scientific American.               August 1975.

Though this article covers events around AD 1000, well after the peopling of the New World, it is still an excellent source on pre-Columbian culture.

Hammond, Norman. “The Earliest Maya.” Scientific American. March 1977.

            Excellent article on early formative Maya culture (4600 BP).

Jennings, Jesse. Prehistory of North America. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968.

In addition to providing some surprisingly accessible information on Ancient Americans, Jennings does a fair job of defining archaeology, what it is, and why it is so important.

                  Klein, Richard. “Ice Age Hunters of the Ukraine.” Scientific American. June 1974.

Covers ancient hunting sites in the Old World dated 75,000 to 10,000 years BP. Good resource to illustrate parallel cultures between Old and New World. (See “A Stone Age Camp Site at the Gateway to America.”)

                   MacNeish, Richard. “Early Man in the Andes.” Scientific American. April 1971.

Article claims evidence of man dating back 22,000 years in the New World. Actually article is a good example of conclusive thinking vs. proof.

MacNeish, Richard. “The Origins of New World Civilization.” Scientific American. November 1964.

Excavations in the Tehuacan valley of central Mexico raises evidence of advancement in settlements, craftsmanship and their relation to improved agricultural techniques.

Millon, Rene. “Teotihuacan.” Scientific American. June 1967.

Good, compact read on Teotihuacan. Nice feel for current city’s layout, as well as how the city functioned 1500 years ago.

Perring, Stefania. Then and Now. London: Quarto Publishing, 1991.

Novel book with contemporary pictures of ancient sites. Each site also has an overlay to show site in original condition. Surprisingly literate text. Though this book contains only two New World sites (Teotihuacan and Machu Picchu) it is highly recommended. Very popular with students.

Prufer, Olaf. “The Hopewell Cult.” Scientific American. December 1964.

Good examples on how graves and refuse dumps are good sources for artifacts.

Schwarzacher, Walter. Cyclostratigraply. New York: Elsevier Science, 1993.

           Detailed yet accessible explanations of the Milankovitch Cycles.

Swanson, Earl. The New World. New York: Elsevier Phaidon, 1975.

Contains excellent, illustrated, step by step process for flint working.

Wheat, Joe. “A Paleo-Indian Bison Kill.” Scientific American. January 1967.

Interesting example of how ancient events can be deduced through newfound evidence. In this case an arroyo filled with 8500-year-old bison bones is found in Colorado and a believable scenario is recreated from them.

Wilkinson, Philip and Polland, Michael. The Master Builders. Pymble, Australia: Angus and Robertson              Publishers, 1992.

    Well illustrated with juvenile text. Good introduction to such sites as Catal Huyuk       and Stonehenge. Excellent chapters on pre-Columbian sites Copan, Chichean, Itza       and Pueble Bonito. Good information on later sites such as Tenochtitan and Machu       Picchu.

Wilkinson, Philip and Polland, Michael. The Mound Builders. Pymble, Australia: Angus and               Robertson Publishers, 1992.

Juvenile text with fine illustrations. Very good chapters on the Adenans, Hopewellians, and Sciotans.