Paleo-Indians
Ancient American migrants
Paleo-Indians were the earliest human inhabitants of the Americas, arriving from Asia via the Bering land bridge during the last Ice Age, roughly 15,000 to 20,000 years ago.
The term covers diverse peoples who spread throughout North and South America, known archaeologically for distinctive stone tools and big-game hunting.
Paleo-Indian sites reveal much about early migration patterns.
Sharpened tool tips for weapons
- spearheadsLeads or initiates
- knappingFracturing stone for tools
- bone toolsImplements fashioned from skeletons
Former land connecting continents
- land bridgeTerrain joining two continents
- coastal routePath following the waterline
- dispersalSpreading in many directions
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
Pacific coast · glacial period · expansion · pioneers · settlers · peopling · genetic ancestry · haplogroup
Act of unearthing
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- carbon datingIsotope-based age measurement
- radiocarbonDecaying carbon isotope
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
lithics · dig site · prehistoric · anthropology · typology · chronology · assemblage · test pit
Extinct elephant with curved tusks
- mastodonExtinct elephantine Pleistocene mammal
- giant slothExtinct oversized tree-stripper
- saber-toothed catExtinct long-fanged felid
- PleistoceneAncient glacial geological period
ground sloth · glyptodon · dire wolf · megaherbivore · extinction · Quaternary
Subsistence through wild resources
- big-game huntingKilling large wild animals
- foragersThose seeking wild food
- mammoth huntersPrehistoric big-game trackers
- spear throwerHandheld projectile launcher
butchering · game processing · nomadic · bone marrow · sinew
projectile points
Sharpened tool tips for weapons
- spearheadsLeads or initiates
- knappingFracturing stone for tools
- bone toolsImplements fashioned from skeletons
Beringia
Former land connecting continents
- land bridgeTerrain joining two continents
- coastal routePath following the waterline
- dispersalSpreading in many directions
colonization · Pacific coast · glacial period · expansion · pioneers · settlers · peopling · genetic ancestry · haplogroup · DNA evidence
excavation
Act of unearthing
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- carbon datingIsotope-based age measurement
- radiocarbonDecaying carbon isotope
artifacts · lithics · dig site · prehistoric · anthropology · typology · chronology · assemblage · test pit · provenance
mammoth
Extinct elephant with curved tusks
- mastodonExtinct elephantine Pleistocene mammal
- giant slothExtinct oversized tree-stripper
- saber-toothed catExtinct long-fanged felid
Pleistocene · ground sloth · glyptodon · dire wolf · megaherbivore · extinction · Quaternary
hunter-gatherers
Subsistence through wild resources
- big-game huntingKilling large wild animals
- foragersThose seeking wild food
- mammoth huntersPrehistoric big-game trackers
spear thrower · butchering · game processing · nomadic · bone marrow · sinew
oral tradition
Culture passed by speech
petroglyphs · pigments · burial practices · red ochre · adornment · beads · pendants · ritual · ancestors · kinship
Paleo-IndiansEnglish colonists
British immigrants to America
European explorers · Christopher Columbus · Hernán Cortés · colonizers · invaders
Indian, Indians, paleo, paleolithic, paleontology, paleontologist, paleontological, paleography, India