Continued speculation and debate regarding the initial process of human occupation of the Americas has resulted in the development of different theories. The Clovis-first theory may be viewed as the traditional theory to explain the peopling of the Americas due to its general acceptability during a large portion of the 20th century. Nevertheless, recent archeological finds have challenged the Clovis-first hypothesis and thus, the development of new theories. The recent theories include the Kelp Highway and Solutrean theories. While the Solutrean hypothesis is plausible, this discussion will focus on analyzing the two main competing theories of Clovis-first and Kelp Highway. The minimal attention to the Solutrean theory is due to the close association of tools and genetic makeup of the Clovis culture with little evidence to present the technology for seafaring especially across the Atlantic. Accordingly, this analysis compares and contrasts the Clovis-first and the Kelp Highway theories on the peopling of the Americas.
One of the main differences between the two theories on the occupation of the Americas is the route of migration. The Clovis-first theory proposes that occupation occurred through inland/interior migration from Siberia. From the theory, humans followed and hunted the herds of big animals over the Beringia (now Alaska) land bridge which was a corridor between the receding ice sheets (Pringle p.38). In contrast, the Kelp highway theory suggests that earlier occupation occurred through the pacific coast route by boat rather than foot (Erlandson, p.127). Furthermore, the theory suggests that the first occupation of the Americas resulted from a pacific journey by the East Asians or Australian Aborigines, a claim supported by evidence from the discovery of the Kennewick Man who bears resemblance of the Japanese Ainu people (Fiedel, p.75).
The other differences between the two theories the proposed periods of occupation and concreteness of the models. Carbon dating of a majority of artefacts evidencing the Clovis-first theory dates back to 13,000 calendar years (Fiedel, p.75). However, the fossil and intact camp discovery in Monte Verde in Chile dates back to 14,500 calendar years, almost a millennium before the Beringia crossing (Fiedel, p.76). However, it is important to note that the coastal migrations bypassed the interior occupation entirely and thus, minimal genetic contribution and association with the modern Native Americans. Furthermore, the critiques of the Kelp Highway model argue that the coastal migration during the proposed time periods would have required seafaring boats and the proponents of the theory are yet to present any evidence to strengthen their claim. As a result, the Kelp Highway hypothesis is critically speculative but its proponents defend it by indicating that any settlements and seafaring artefacts maybe submerged several meters under the ocean and several miles away from the coastline. On the other hand, there is significant evidence to support the Beringia land bridge migration but the main area of concern remains on who arrived first in the New World.
Despite the established differences in the arguments of the theories, one point of agreement is that Alaska was the first point of entry into the New World before any spread inwards (Bever p.595). The Clovis-first theory bases its arguments on the creation of an interior corridor by the receding ice sheets thus allowing the migration of herds of big game and with them came the hunters and thus the initial occupation of the new world. As a result, there has been a high concentration of research in Alaska for any remains to further validate the theory. In comparison, the Kelp highway theory concedes that the original humans might have first landed in Alaska before advancing along the Pacific rim forging the Kelp highway and proceeding all the way up to South America. However, the minimal evidence of the Kelp highway theory still prevents any concrete comparison between the two theories to fully ascertain the initial occupation of the Americas.
Works Cited
Bever, Michael R. "Too little, too late? The radiocarbon chronology of Alaska and the peopling of the New World." American Antiquity 71.4 (2006): 595-620.
Erlandson, Jon M. "After Clovis-first collapsed: Reimagining the peopling of the Americas." Paleoamerican odyssey (2013): 127-131.
Fiedel, Stuart J. "The Kennewick follies:" new" theories about the peopling of the Americas." Journal of Anthropological Research 60.1 (2004): 75-110.
Pringle, Heather. "The first Americans." Scientific American 305.5 (2011): 36-45.
