The Settlement of the American Continents

Subtitle
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Human Biogeography

When many scholars are asked about early human settlement in the Americas, they might point to a handful of archaeological sites as evidence. Yet the process was not a simple one, and today there is no consistent argument favoring a particular scenario for the peopling of the New World.

This book approaches the human settlement of the Americas from a biogeographical perspective in order to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms and consequences of this unique event. It considers many of the questions that continue to surround the peopling of the Western Hemisphere, focusing not on sites, dates and artifacts, but rather on theories and models that attempt to explain how the colonization occurred.

Unlike other studies, this book draws on a wide range of disciplines — archaeology, human genetics and osteology, linguistics, ethnology, and ecology — to present the big picture of this migration. Its wide-ranging content considers who the Pleistocene settlers were and where they came from, their likely routes of migration, and the ecological role of these pioneers and the consequences of colonization. Comprehensive in both geographic and topical coverage, the contributions include an explanation of how the first inhabitants could have spread across North America within several centuries, the most comprehensive review of new mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome data relating to the colonization, and a critique of recent linguistic theories.

Bios

Michael Barton is a professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. His research centers on the dynamics of socioecological systems, expecially in the context of hunter-gatherers and small-scale agricultural societies.

Geoffrey Clark is a professor emeritus in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. He is known nationally for his contributions to quantified archaeological research designs and internationally for his work on hunter-gatherer adaptations, epistemology and human origins research


Praise for this book

The peopling of the Americas is an exciting topic, one that crosses disciplinary boundaries and reaches out to the general public.

Frank Goebel University of Nevada, Reno

Of great value to the ongoing, and sometimes contentious, debate about the New World peopling.

Journal of Field Archaeology
Settlement of the American Continents book cover
Date published
Publisher
The University of Arizona Press
ISBN
978-0816523238

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