Chapter 2

The Great Migrations

In This Chapter

Exploring how American Indians arrived in the Americas

Checking out the three waves of immigration

Uncovering early periods of development

The following key questions regarding the origin of the Indian population of the North American continent have still not been answered with absolute certainty:

Who was here?

How’d they get here?

How many people were there?

Although valiant efforts have been made to accurately account for the creation of the Indian population of North America, no theories to date have answered everyone’s questions with certainty, nor can scientists, historians, and Native Americans agree to the validity of one theory over another.

In this chapter, you get a glimpse at some of the wide-ranging and varying theories as to how the people now who are now known as American Indians, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and First Nations in Canada got here in the first place. You can also discover details on their culture, tools, and how their way of life evolved during the early periods of their civilization on the American continents.

How’d Everyone Get Here Anyway?

The most commonly accepted scientific theory on how American Indians came to be in the Americas is that they came from Asia. Sure, this is now being challenged (like, on a daily basis) but many historians and scholars still consider the “from Asia” theory the most likely explanation.

How they got here exactly, is subject to some debate. In fact, some people believe they came by another route, or even originated here. Some of the artifacts found in North America contradict different theories. The following sections explore these theories and the evidence to support them.

Crossing a bridge to somewhere: Beringia

The standard scientific theory on how North America was populated is that groups from Asia migrated into Alaska (sometimes referred to as the overland migration theory). The waters in the Bering Strait are relatively shallow. During some of the occasional ice ages, sea levels dropped as much as 200 feet around the world. This lowering of the level of the ocean exposed this section of land between the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea of the north Pacific.

This land bridge is often called Beringia. It stretched from the eastern point of modern-day Siberia to western Alaska. Experts believe this area could have covered as much as 1,000 miles from north to south.

When did Beringia appear and when did people start moving across it from Asia? That answer is up for debate. This is just one of the many controversies surrounding the origins of the Native people of the Americas. Many experts agree that during several of the short ice ages during the last 100,000 years, land was exposed in Beringia.

Does DNA divulge any details?

Research in mitochondrial DNA has suggested that people were in North America at least 25,000 years ago. This research is based on DNA mutations found in people of American Indian ancestry. The current theory is that mutations occur in DNA at a fairly regular interval. By looking at the differences between two different groups, you can tell when they split off from each other. The 25,000-year figure is derived by comparing certain American Indian groups and other groups that remained in Asia.

The general consensus is that the major exodus along this route took place between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. There is evidence to show there were several waves of migration into North America.

Even CSI would be stumped

Why is there such a discrepancy in the dates of the migration? Very few ancient artifacts made by humans have been found in this area. The constant advance and retreat of the glaciers of the polar ice cap have scraped much of the land clean. Many of these areas are still under ice or sedimentation. Without artifacts that can be dated, it is difficult for scientists to accurately determine when people first appeared here.

Another commonly accepted part of the land bridge theory is that during the ice ages northern Alaska and Canada were covered by glaciers that were many hundreds of feet thick. This was also believed to be the case along the coastal areas or the northeastern Pacific. However, there was a wide central area that might have been clear of ice. This area ran along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains into the Great Plains. Soil core samples of some sections of this part of North America have shown there were areas that were free of ice during these short ice ages. This would have left a wide path open for migrating groups to follow in a general southeasterly direction.

Why’d they come?

Why would people leave Asia and travel through unknown areas into North America?

The most commonly held belief is that these people were nomadic in nature. They would often follow the large herds of migrating animals. These animals were their main source of food. Humans often made their clothing, shelter, and the simple tools they had from these animals. With fresh pastures opening up because of the creation of the land bridge, some herds migrated to the east. As the herds moved east, the human nomads followed them.

It is also possible that some animals that originated in North American might have moved west into Asia. Some groups might have moved east to find their source. Some anthropologists think part of the reason for the migration might have also been due to conflicts with other groups in Asia. Some tribes might have traveled east to look for lands of their own, or were pushed that way by more powerful groups.

Some scientists debate whether the Dyuktai Culture of Siberia and/or the Ainu people of Japan were some of the earliest explorers into North America by way of Beringia.

The first noted documentation of the Beringia theory of the peopling of North America was by José de Acosta. De Acosta was a Jesuit who lived from 1540 to 1600. He wrote a great deal about the agriculture, culture, and geography of the Americas.

Arriving by water

Another theory regarding the arrival of people in North America from Asia is that they took a water route. These explorations are thought to have taken place between 15,000 and 10,500 years ago. There is evidence that many of the people who lived along the northwestern shores of the Pacific during this time period had boats. Some scientists believe these groups could have followed the shoreline across the northern Pacific until they found areas that were not covered in ice.

This theory is not as widely held as the overland migration theory. Many scientists feel that too much of the Alaska and British Columbia coastline was completely covered by glaciers. Any groups traveling along this route would not have been able to find any anchorages. There would have been no place to go ashore in order to repair boats or get needed supplies. With much of the coastal shelf now under the ocean, it has been hard for researchers to find artifacts to support this theory.

Other theories

That people traveled along the Bering landmass is not the only theory on how people first came to North America. In the following sections, you can check out the other possibilities that have been suggested.

Many scientists have found reasons to believe that people from Africa, Asia, and Europe settled in North America. Many of these theories propose that the peoples of the Americas all found their origins in other continents.

The Chinese

Some scientists have suggested that Chinese sailors might have helped to first populate the coastal areas of North America. Chinese junks were able to endure long ocean voyages. Whether their eastward travels were intentional, or as the result of encountering storms at sea, it is not beyond the realm of possibility for Chinese to land in North America and thrive. Some scholars have made the same proposal for Japanese sailors as well.

This bulleted list shows you some of the reasons supporting the possibility of Chinese visits to the Americas:

A few researchers have found many artistic similarities between the ancient Chinese and cultures in Central America.

There have long been stories told of a Chinese treasure fleet that might have visited Mexico in the 1420s.

To some researchers, some ancient Olmec graphics appear to be similar to ancient Chinese texts.

Fifth-century Chinese explorer Hui-Shen described his travels to the land of Fu-Sang. One of the plants there is very much like the corn — maize — that only grows in Central America. Was Fu-Sang Central America?

The Solutreans

There is another theory about Europeans traveling to North America that has been gaining some supporters of late. This involves people whose archaeological culture has been called Solutrean. Solutrean people had established themselves in areas of Spain and France. They had some distinctive methods of fashioning arrowheads and lance points.

And here’s the interesting part: Points that look similar can be found in eastern parts of the United States. The time range on these discoveries is about 16,000 years ago. The scientists who put forward this theory have also discovered some genetic similarities between certain American Indian groups and those of certain modern-day Europeans. These similarities are not found among Asian groups. Like most of the other theories, this one is not yet widely accepted. Scientists are continuing to search for evidence to bolster this idea.

The Africans

Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl mounted several expeditions to show that the Americas could have easily been reached by seafaring groups from Africa. Heyerdahl sailed from Morocco to North America. Heyerdahl never seriously suggested North America was populated by Africans, but he did show that people might have been capable of going between the two continents. To date, no substantial evidence has been located to back up the idea of African colonists.

And we can’t forget Atlantis

There are also the old theories of explorations of the world by ancient mariners such as the Phoenicians. These theories can also be found in “new age” stories that ancient explorers were people from Atlantis. While scholars acknowledge the possibility of Phoenicians reaching North America, Atlantis remains the substance of myth in academic circles.

Indigenous theory

Finally, there is the indigenous theory of the origins of the people of North America. Some American Indian groups do have oral histories of there being very long travels before they finally came to the lands they occupied at the time of the onset of the organized European explorations of the 15th and 16th centuries.

However, many more indigenous groups have creation stories that say they originated in North America. Many tribal traditionalists say they were created here, and they stayed here. The Nez Perce tribe point to the “Heart Of The Monster” in Kamiah, Idaho, as their place of origin. Similar stories are told by many other tribes.

According to a 1995 United States Census Bureau survey, 49 percent of indigenous people preferred being called American Indian, 37 percent preferred Native American, 3.6 percent preferred “some other term,” and 5 percent had no preference. The common phrase used in Canada is First Nations or First People.

The Three Immigration Waves

Most scientists believe there were several waves of immigrants moving into North America over the Bering Land Bridge.

One theory says there were three major waves of immigrants into North America. These different migrations can easily be divided into three groups:

Clovis, Folsom, and Plano

Na-Dene

Inuit and Aleut

The two significant differences between these groups are the dates when they first moved into North America and their basic language.

The dates associated with each of these groups vary considerably from scholar to scholar.

Clovis, Folsom, and Plano

According to the most widely held theory, the first significant group to migrate into North America crossed Beringia sometime around 15,000 to 20,000 years ago.

As they traveled along the ice-free corridor east of the Rocky Mountains, they eventually spread across the Great Plains. Most of these groups moved to areas south of modern-day Canada. Continuing cold weather made these areas too harsh to merit long-term habitation. Many scientists believe these original groups are the basis for most tribal groups south of Canada.

By the end of the last ice age, around 12,000 years ago, they came into the eastern parts of North America. At the same time, they traveled south through Central America into South America.

Cultural linguists believe that most of the languages of North and South America, south of Alaska and Canada, developed from this initial group of immigrants.

Clovis

Around 11,000 years ago, these groups began to share some common characteristics. They tended to be nomadic hunters. Preferring larger animals, they developed specialized hunting techniques and tools. One of their most distinctive inventions was the spear head they devised. It was usually made from flint, and had a long narrow point. One of the first of these points was discovered in the 1930s in Clovis, New Mexico. This group would be named for this town: the Clovis Culture.

Around 10,000 years ago, the largest land animals of North America became extinct. This would include such animals as:

Mammoths

Mastodons

Saber-toothed cats

Many scientists speculate that the Clovis groups were the reason for the depopulation of these North America animals. As these larger animals disappeared, cultures and methods began to change.

However, recent studies by scientists Donald Grayson and David Meltzer suggest that Clovis people did not instigate the extinction of approximately 35 major groups of mammals. Their theory is that Clovis people just happened to live at the same time as a natural extinction occurred.

Folsom

To deal with these changes, new techniques and methods led to the development of a new cultural group. This newest group was called the Folsom Culture. They were at their peak from about 10,500 to 8,500 years ago.

They added some refinements to the original Clovis point. The Folsom culture developed the atlatl. This stick would be used to help them throw their spears faster and farther. (See Chapter 11 for more on the atlatl.) They also became adept at herding animals into marshes or cul-de-sacs.

One of their more common hunting techniques was the animal jump. Some of the hunters would drive a herd of large animals toward a cliff. Other hunters would wait at the bottom of the cliff to butcher the animals after they jumped to their deaths.

The word atlatl comes from the Aztec language of Nahuatl. It can be translated as spear thrower or hand thrower. Atlatls were used by many ancient cultures throughout the world.

The Folsom people are best known for their hunting of a now-extinct form of American bison called the Bison antiquus. Whether the Folsom people hunted the Bison antiquus into extinction is a matter of debate among scientists. The Folsom people flourished until around 8,000 years ago.

The Bison antiquus (ancient bison) was often as tall as 6 feet at the shoulders. They could easily weigh as much as 2,000 pounds.

Plano

After the Folsom culture came the Plano Culture.

The Plano people were a further development of the Folsom people. Their period of existence is usually estimated to be from 6,000 to 8,000 years ago. With the eventual extinction of the Bison antiquus, the Plano people turned their attention to the smaller modern American bison (commonly called the American Buffalo) and other small game.

Some of their ancient sites showed dwellings that were circular in shape. This has led some scientists to believe they employed skins over poles for shelters. The Plano people also refined the spear points that had been used by the Clovis and Folsom people.

Collectively, the Clovis, Folsom, and Plano people are often called Paleoindians.

Na-Dene

As with most of the early history of North America, exact dates are hard to come by.

The second major migration into North America can be estimated to have happened around 9,000 to 10,000 years ago. This group, on whole, has remained in Alaska and Canada. They are distinguished by their common language base: Na-Dene.

The major language groups are composed of:

Athabaskan

Haida

Tlingit

One theory says the Na-Dene were stranded in Beringia for some time by encroaching glaciers. When the ice finally retreated, the Na-Dene groups moved out of Beringia into Canada and parts of Alaska. The Navajos (or Diné, as they call themselves) and the Apache, of the southwestern United States, are also part of this group.

The Inuits and Aleuts

The third migration into North America included the Inuits and the Aleuts.

This immigration is believed to have occurred about 4,000 to 6,000 years ago. Most of this group has remained in Alaska, northern Canada, and Greenland. This migration is also called the Eskimo-Aleut migration. No other major migrations have taken place since this last group crossed from Asia into North America.

Some scientists believe the Na-Dene may have immigrated out of Beringia after the Inuits. As with all of these theories, precise dates are hard to establish.

Even older ancient sites have been discovered in the Americas. If the estimated dates of these sites have been accurately determined, they could have people in the Americas at least 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.

Dating ancient sites is a very tricky business. Scientists often disagree about the exact dates. Some of these possibly older sites are

Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania

Monte Verde in Chile

The Stages of the Earliest Americans

Archaeologists and anthropologists have divided the development of the original inhabitants of North America into several different stages.

While there are generalized time frames involved in these different periods, some things happened in different times in different areas. Different climates and terrains lead to different lifestyles. An area thick with trees would allow for wooden shelters. Deserts or plains would require another type of shelter design.

The major developmental periods and areas of the earliest Americans are

Paleoindian

Archaic

Post-archaic

Woodlands

Pueblo

We discuss these developmental periods in more detail in the sections that follow.

The Paleoindian period

The Paleoindian period generally covers the time period of 6,000 to 15,000 years ago. This period includes the spread of humans across the Americas. The people are represented by the Clovis, Folsom, and Plano groups already discussed.

If the Paleoindians had their own theme song, it would be Dion’s “The Wanderer.” (Because, y’know, they wandered around like the guy in the song. Wasn’t that obvious?) Seriously, though, the Paleoindians were nomadic and moved according to the migration patterns of the mammoth and buffalo.

They were hunters, mainly, but also gathered what edible vegetation they could find. During the Paleoindian period, they essentially spread out southward and eastward from what is now Alaska into the North American continent and down into what is now South America.

They used atlatls and spears to bring down their prey, and the dominant characteristic of the people of this period was constant movement. (See Chapter 11 for more on the weapons of choice of Native peoples.)

The Archaic period

The Archaic period is usually dated from about 3,000 to 10,000 years ago, depending on the area. One of the distinctions of the Archaic period is a change in the climate of North America. As the ice age came to an end, temperatures began to rise. This led to the creation of some the desert areas of North America. Glaciers began to retreat, ocean levels began to rise, and the depressions of the Great Lakes began to fill.

The inhabitants of North America were also starting to change their ways of life. The types of animals they hunted began to expand. As more of the larger animals were killed off, the people of this period began to make use of smaller and smaller animals, and more plants. Some groups changed from hunters to foragers.

A wider variety of tools were being developed. Grinding rocks in order to form tools was used in addition to the older method of chipping off pieces.

Previously, tools were most often made from flint or obsidian. These stones could easily be chipped to the desired shape. During the Archaic period, stone points decreased in size and changed in shape. By the end of the Archaic, people had developed arrowpoints. Other tools, such as nets, were also developed and refined.

Finding the Ancient One

In 1996 a skull and some 300 other bones and bone fragments were discovered in the shallow waters of the Columbia River, near Kennewick, Washington. Radiocarbon dating of the remains revealed that the bones were over 9,000 years old.

Scientists who examined the remains found that this person’s cranial shape did not match that of local groups. Instead of being short from front to back and round, the cranium was long and narrow. The person likely looked a lot like the other early people from the Americas, but if he has to be placed into a modern population, his cranium looks most like the Ainu of Japan.

Because these remains had been found on lands that were traditionally part of the territory of Indian tribes, several groups asked to have him returned for reburial. Scientists objected and in good old-fashioned American tradition, the case went to court. In the end, the remains were not deemed to be “Native American” under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

The Post-Archaic period

The Post-Archaic period ranges from present day to 3,000 years ago, depending on the location. There were considerable differences in the types of development between those areas that were the East Coast, the Great Plains, the deserts, and the west coastal regions. The distinctive changes of this period were

Invention of pottery

Increasing use of agriculture

Development of textiles and leather goods

Tools made from bone

Improvements of stone tools

Improvements in the construction of shelter

Invention of the bow and arrow

The Woodlands

In what would become the United States, several cultural groups developed. Having significant amounts of wooded areas, groups were able to utilize trees for a variety of purposes.

East Coast Areas

The Hopewell and Adena cultures left a significant number of artifacts. Both groups were noted for their construction of mounds. Copper began to be used for tools and jewelry.

Great Plains

Village life would become the central focus of much of the Great Plains along many of the year-round rivers. While some groups would still be nomadic hunter-gatherers, many others would settle down. Hunting would remain a major activity for Great Plains groups.

West Coast Areas

The west coast offered a variety of climates and habitats. Some groups developed significant fishing operations. The Pacific Northwest had a significant population. The desert areas of California and the Great Basin saw smaller population levels.

The main form of agriculture of this period was the cultivation of corn, beans, and squash. These agricultural products are often called the “three sisters.”

The Pueblos

The Pueblo peoples of the American Southwest had their own unique development. According to their own histories (similar to the Hopi and Zuni), they are the descendants of the ancient ones.

The “ancient ones” were formerly referred to as Anasazi, but are now known as Ancestral Puebloan.

The earliest groups lived in caves or simple mud-and-pole structures. They harvested wild grasses and eventually cultivated corn, beans, and squashes. They also domesticated the turkey. As they matured, these cultures developed pottery. Weaving was also a significant part of their culture.

Around 750 B.C. they began building aboveground adobe structures for living quarters. They also maintained underground structures called kivas, which were often used for religious or ceremonial purposes. Their initial settlements appeared around 2,000 years ago in the northern part of the American Southwest. As the climate changed, they tended to move toward the south.

The following sections discuss each of the Pueblo periods in more detail, showing you how their way of life changed as the years passed.

Pueblo III

The Pueblo III period dates from approximately 1050 to 1300 B.C. This period is also known as the “Classic Pueblo” period.

There appear to have been fewer outlying villages during this period, as much of the population moved into the larger communities. It is during this time that many of the large, multi-storied villages were built. These could be free-standing structures, or structures built into hollow areas in cliffs. The largest structures had hundreds of rooms. Some of the more well-known structures of this period are

Mesa Verde in Colorado

Chaco Canyon in New Mexico

Aztec Ruins in New Mexico

Casa Grande in Arizona

Canyon de Chelly in Arizona

This era saw most of the communities located in southern parts of modern-day Colorado and Utah and the northern sections of Arizona and New Mexico. The end of this chronological period is dated to the abandonment of these large communities.

A drought covering over 20 years struck the American southwest in 1276, and many scientists believe this was one of the major reasons why most of the major structures were abandoned by the end of this period. Some scientists have suggested that the appearance in the area of more aggressive groups, such as the Navajo and Apache tribes, also led to the exodus of the ancient Pueblo people.

The two oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the United States are in this area. Oraibi, on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, and Acoma (Sky City) in New Mexico, date back to around 1150. San Augustine, Florida, is the oldest European-founded continuously inhabited city in the United States.

Pueblo IV

The Pueblo IV period dates from approximately 1300 to 1700 C.E. This period is also known as the “Regressive Pueblo “ period. With the abandonment of the large communities of the Classic era, the population moved to the east and to the south. While there were some large communities, the architecture was not as refined as that of the Classic era.

Cotton was used for textiles, and corn continued to be a major source of food. Pottery tended to have bolder designs during this era.

In 1598, Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate Salazar began a major expedition into the lands north of the Rio Grande. Oñate claimed most of New Mexico for Spain. He then established a capital city in Santa Fe.

The first Spanish expedition into Pueblo areas was that of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in 1540. When he did not find the fabled “Seven Cities of Gold,” he left the area.

Spanish efforts to dominate the daily life of the Pueblos, including religious conversions, led to considerable resistance by the Pueblos. In 1680, a Tewa Pueblo Indian named Popé led a revolution against the Spanish. Starting in the Taos pueblo, the revolt was successful. The Pueblos managed to rid much of New Mexico of Spanish forces. The end of the Regressive Pueblo era is marked by the return of significant Spanish forces into the area around 1694.

Pueblo V

The Pueblo V period dates from approximately 1700 to the present. This period is also known as the “Modern Pueblo” period. This period is marked by continuing control of the territory by Spanish, Mexican, and American authorities. During this time, the number of thriving Pueblo communities was significantly reduced.

Many of the domesticated animals (cattle, goats, horses, and sheep) introduced by the Spanish were adopted by the Pueblos early in this period. While cotton was still used for textiles, wool from their sheep and goats soon became the predominant fiber.

The Pueblos have been relatively successful in establishing sovereignty over their local governments.