Beringia is an area between the northeast Russia and Alaska (from Kolyma River to Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories of Canada). At present, it is divided by the Bering Strait and there is no land bridge between Asia and North America. But during the last Ice Age (about 12 000 years ago), when part of Earth’s waters were locked in Ice Caps and the water level was lower, the land that is now under Chukchi and Baring Seas, was exposed. At times of lowest seas, Beringia Land Bridge stretched for about thousand and six hundred kilometers from north to south. It is believed that Beringia Land Bridge was used at that time by people, animals and plants as a migration route to settle both Americas. Scientists claim that first people came to Americas through Beringia Land Bridge.
At that time, much of North American territories were covered by glaciers. People, who migrated from Asia, were looking for natural resources that would allow them to survive in new conditions. Consequently they were moving south. According to scientific research there were two possible ways of moving south: The Coastal Route and Mackenzie Corridor – a wide, unglaciated, inland corridor along Mackenzie River’s basin. There is no evidence that any of those routes were used. It must be remembered that glaciers were covering North America at different periods and to a different extend, closing and opening Beringia Land Bridge, Mackenzie Corridor and The Coastal Route at various times.
Moreover, when The Coastal Route was accessible, water level was much lower, and coast, that might have been used to move south, is now probably under water.
Although there is no strong evidence that any of those routes were used, when we compare paleoclimatological dates with the linguistic and genetic evidence (probably three separate “waves” of migration) we will find out that they match well The Coastal Route accessibility, suggesting that this, now submerged area, is the most probable way of migration of those populations.
By: Piotr Kobyliński
pkobylin@ulapland.fi
Sources:
http://weber.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/arch/beringia.html#top
http://www.nps.gov/akso/beringia/whatisberingia2.htm
http://www.nps.gov/bela/historyculture/beringia.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beringia
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