POPULATION OF AMERICA: MAIN THEORIES (CLASSICAL AND MODERN) - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The settlement of America consists of the process of origin and extension of human beings throughout the American continent. At present, it is known that the human species is not originally from America, so it is ensured that the continent had to be populated through a series of migrations.

There are many theses that try to explain the origin of the American man. The archaeologist Dalia Castillo Campos, in her text Origin and antiquity of the settlement of America (1999), explains that the search for the origin of these ancient settlers dates back to the discovery of the New World, when Church men and several explorers marveled at the cultural and linguistic richness of the societies they found.

Map of the American continent made by Jodocus Hondius. Source: Jodocus Hondius (1563-1612)

The indigenous population they encountered did not appear in either classical literature or the Bible, so their origins quickly caught the attention of researchers. At that time, the Catholic Church was the one that offered explanations about the origin of humanity and the Earth, so it was this institution that offered answers.

One of the theories offered by the Catholic Church was that the American Indians had to be descendants of a group of lost tribes of Israel. The idea was also proposed that they came from the lineage of Shem, Noah's son; some even proposed that they were actually descendants of the survivors of Atlantis.

Through time, with the advancement of science and other disciplines, the origin of the settlement of America was approached from other perspectives. Within these investigations, two main aspects emerged: the autochthonous thesis and the alloctonist thesis. In the first case, it was argued that humanity was actually born in America and then had emigrated to the rest of the world.

On the other hand, the alloctonist thesis defends that America was populated from outside, although there is no consensus on which was the place of entry. Some argue that man came from Europe via the Atlantic, others propose that from Asia via the Bering Strait or from the Far East via the Pacific Ocean.

Main theories

- Classical theories

Autochthonous thesis of F. Ameghino

It was defended mainly by the Argentine paleontologist Florentino Ameghino (1854-1911). This researcher affirmed that the biological evolution of men was typical of America, specifically of the southern part of South America. According to Ameghino, the human being would have first populated the American continent and then moved to other parts of the world.

However, it was later confirmed that his approach was wrong; Bone evidence was found that allowed us to recognize that this author's classification was not correct. Consequently, there is no evidence to support the existence of the American name in the late Tertiary.

Alex Hrdlicka Classical Theory (Asian)

The Czech anthropologist Alex Hrdlicka (1869-1943) established that the first human presences on the American continent could be a group of Asian hunters who entered the Strait of Behring during the Ice Age, that is, in the Plesitocene period.

Consequently, these human migrations would have entered through the Yucón Valley (Alaska), and later spread to the rest of the American territories.

This theory is based mainly on the anthroposomatic similarities that exist between the Amerindians and the Asian man: the crease of the eyes, wide malars, dark hair and teeth with a figure similar to a shovel.

The anthropologist also pointed out the existence of a "Mongolian spot", which consists of a congenital green coloration that both American Indians and Asians have after birth. A peculiarity of this pigmentation is that it usually disappears with the passage of time.

In addition, Hrdlicka established that among American indigenous groups (such as the Quechuas or Mayans) there are a number of common characteristics, suggesting that all these cultures had a common general ancestor: Asian culture.

The ocean theory of Paul Rivet

Paul Rivet (1876-1958) was a French ethnologist who contradicted the monoracial views of Alex Hrdlicka. Rivet approved the introduction of human populations through the Strait of Behring, but added the oceanic route. According to this researcher, groups of Polynesians and Melanics also emigrated, which would have settled in Central America and later dispersed throughout the rest of the territories.

According to the author Margot Pino, in her text Theories about the settlement of America (nd), Rivet's arguments were based on four main aspects:

- Anthropological: a similarity was found in bone structure and blood between the men who inhabited Lagoa-Santa (Brazil) and the Melanesians.

- Ethnographic: ritual similarities were found between the Melanic tribes and the Amazonian groups. For example, the cutting of the phalanges as a symbol of challenge and the pursuit of "trophy heads".

- Cultural: both cultures used mosquito nets, hammocks, percussion instruments made of wood, truncheons and hanging rails.

- Linguistics: Rivet established that there were certain similarities between Melanic words and the speech of the Hoka indigenous community, located in North America.

The Australian theory of Antonio Méndez Correa

The Portuguese researcher Antonio Méndez Correa (1888-1960) was one of the main defenders of the Australian migration theory through Antarctica. According to this author, the Australians made some simple structure boats to arrive in the Auckland Islands, Tasmania and Antarctica.

The cold continent of Antarctica managed to be traversed by Australian populations during the optimal climate period, 5000 years ago BC. C. -that is, during the Holocene period-. After traveling the coasts of the continent for many years, they arrived at Cape Horn, located in Tierra del Fuego. Later, they would have populated Patagonia.

In order to defend his theory, the Portuguese researcher devoted himself to studying the natives who resided in Tierra del Fuego and in Patagonia, finding linguistic and physical similarities with the indigenous Australian populations.

Among the similarities we can mention the shape of the skulls, the blood group, some words, the ability to withstand low temperatures, the use of fabrics made with animal skin, the invention of the boomerang and the houses shaped like a honeycomb. They also used the buzzer, an instrument used during rituals.

Charles Abbott theory

In 1876, the American doctor Charles Abbott found a series of utensils made of stone on the banks of the Delaware River, located in New Jersey. Abbott thought that it was a piece of utensils belonging to more recent indigenous groups, however, measurements dated the artifact to about 10,000 years old.

This meant that the tools belonged to a human settlement from the Pleistocene period. However, the scientific community in Washington DC established that Abbott's theory did not meet scientific standards, so his claims were dismissed.

Today, the farm where Charles got the tools is considered a National Historic Landmark.

The find of George McJunkin

In 1908, the African-American cowboy George McJunkin (1851-1922) discovered huge bones located in a ravine in the village of Folsom (New Mexico). These bones belonged to a prehistoric bison, but the most important thing about this event was that a stone tool was found in the animal's ribs that is now known as Folsom's point.

The type of giant bison discovered by McJunkin had become extinct during the last ice age, allowing the age of American settlements to be established for the first time.

Ridgely Whiteman and the Clovis Field

In 1929, a nineteen-year-old named Ridgely Whiteman found a set of bones in the village of Clovis, New Mexico. After this, Edgar Billings Howard, a scientist from the University of Pennsylvania, assured that it was an indigenous group belonging to the Pleistocene period; This was confirmed by the type of arrow found in the deposit, currently known as Punta Clovis.

The Clovis Point was 11,500 years old. C., so it was accepted that the Clovis culture was probably the oldest on the continent and would be related to the first human specimens.

Map showing possible migrations. Source: altaileopardSVG by Magasjukur2

Modern theories

Bruce Bradley's European origin

Bruce Bradley, a scientist at the University of Exeter, claimed that a group of Caucasian sailors (belonging to the lithic industry) may have crossed the Atlantic Ocean and later landed on the eastern coast of North America.

To defend this position, Bradley relied on a set of human skeletons found at Kennewick and the Spirit's Cave, as well as lithic spikes found in the eastern United States. These points were strikingly similar to the weapons of the Europeans belonging to the late Pleistocene.

The Meadowcroft Man

Meadowcroft's human body was found by anthropologist and archaeologist James Adovasio in Pennsylvania, near the Atlantic coast of the United States. Likewise, in the Meadowcroft cave, an abundance of lithic tools such as double-sided points, scrapers and knives were found.

Organic assemblages produced by the fauna and flora of the time were also found, which would have served as food for the Meadowcroft settlement. From these remains, archaeologists unearthed up to seventy samples to later contract different institutions and laboratories for their analysis.

The result of the examinations was fascinating: the oldest dating reached up to 16,000 years BC. A., Reason why it surpassed in antiquity to the points of the Clovis deposit.

Kennewick Man

In 1998, an individual's skull was discovered in the northwestern United States. The most surprising thing about this find is that their features do not resemble those of the American Indians. In fact, this skull features a large nose, a narrow face, and a long forehead.

For this reason, specialists affirm that this human being is approximately eight thousand years old and seems to have been the product of a link between the Polynesians and the Ainos (a population located in Japan). However, others suggest that his features are rather Caucasian. In the Cave Spirit Cave, another face very similar to this was recently discovered.

The man from Monteverde

In 1973, a group of local farmers decided to change the course of the Chinchihuapi stream in order to speed up the oxen's traffic. A year later, the erosion caused by this work revealed a set of guphoteric bones -related to current elephants-, which the local inhabitants could not recognize, but which they kept out of curiosity.

In 1978, Luis Werner, a student at the Austral University of Chile, passed through the place and obtained the bones found by the peasants. The young man decided to give the remains to some teachers, who visited Monte Verde and increased the collection of bones.

The archaeological explorations of Monte Verde were led by the American anthropologist Tom Dillehay, who dug a well with the help of his students. Instantly, Dillehay realized that he was facing a settlement very different from the sites of the Clovis culture.

In general terms, certainties were found that assured the existence of a settlement made up of twelve stores, all of them made with pieces of wood and animal leather. The ashes that were subjected to the Carbon 14 test showed that this settlement was about thirteen thousand years old.

Likewise, archaeologists discovered remains of double-sided points and instruments made with bone associated with the Pleistocene fauna (paleollamas and mastodons). In addition, the tips of Monteverde are very similar to those found in Venezuelan territories. The latter date from about eleven thousand years before Christ.

The discovery of the 13,000-year-old BC settlement caused great international upheaval. However, after digging deeper, Dillehay discovered other remains that proved to be up to 33,000 years old. If these dates are confirmed, the explanations about the American settlement would suffer a total turnaround.

Consequently, the investigations in Monteverde are still continuing. So far the following objects have been found:

- 38 pieces of animal leather.

- eleven species of wild potato.

- nine species of algae, most of which are edible.

- 380 tools and architectural elements made of wood, mostly related to the structure of houses.

- Several dozen animal bones, especially mastodons.

- A set of braziers, stoves and holes located in different places.

These elements, together with other artifacts, are protected in the Maurice van de Maele Historical and Anthropological Museum, located at the Austral University of Chile.

References

1. Castillo, D. (1999) Origin and antiquity of the settlement of America. Retrieved on December 23, 2019 from Dialnet: Dialnet.net
2. McGhee, R. (1989) Who owns prehistory? The Bering land bridge dilemma. Retrieved on December 23, 2019 from JSTOR: jstor.org
3. Mirambel, L. (nd) The first Americans. Retrieved on December 23, 2019 from Como Ves: comoves.unam.mx
4. Pino, M. (sf) Theories of the Population of America. Retrieved on December 23, 2019 from historiademexico23.files.wordpress.com
5. Powell, J. (2005) The first americans: race, evolution and the origin of native Americans. Retrieved on December 23, 2019 from Google books: books.google.com
6. SA (2019) Population of America. Retrieved on December 23, 2019 from Revista Chilena: revistachilena.com
7. SA (sf) Monte Verde. Retrieved on December 23, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
8. Tropea, A. (2015) Population of America: new perspectives for an old debate. Retrieved on December 23 from FCEN.UBA digital library: Bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar