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"The Peopling of the Americas: Crossing Beringia (c. 18,000 BCE)"

Content:

Around 18,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), much of Earth's water was locked in massive ice sheets, lowering global sea levels by up to 120 meters (390 feet). This exposed a vast land bridge between Siberia and Alaska known as Beringia—a dry, grassy plain nearly 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) wide.

The Migration into the Americas

• Who? Small groups of Paleo-Siberian hunter-gatherers, likely following herds of megafauna like mammoths, bison, and horses.
  
• How? They traveled on foot or possibly by boat along the coast, as the interior routes were blocked by ice sheets (Laurentide and Cordilleran).
  
• Why? Push factors may have included climate shifts and resource competition in Siberia, while the promise of new hunting grounds pulled them eastward.

Evidence {content}amp; Debates

• Genetic Studies: Modern Indigenous American populations share ancestry with ancient Siberians, supporting the Beringia theory.
  
• Archaeology: The oldest widely accepted sites (e.g., Monte Verde, Chile, c. 14,500 BCE) suggest rapid southward movement once ice-free corridors opened.
  
• Controversies: Some propose earlier coastal migrations (pre-20,000 BCE), but evidence is sparse due to rising seas drowning ancient shorelines.

Life in Beringia

Though harsh, Beringia was a "refugium"—a steppe ecosystem teeming with wildlife. Migrants likely paused there for generations before moving deeper into the Americas as glaciers retreated.

Legacy: This epic journey laid the foundation for thousands of distinct Indigenous cultures across two continents.

(Note: Exact dates and routes remain debated; new discoveries continue to reshape our understanding.)

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