The First Inhabitants of America Essay -- American America History

The First Inhabitants of America The First "Europeans" reached the Western Hemisphere in the late 15th century. Upon arrival they encountered a rich and diverse culture that had already been inhabited for thousands of years. The Europeans were completely unprepared for the people they stumbled upon. They couldn't understand cultures that were so different and exotic from their own. The discovery of the existence of anything beyond their previous experience could threaten the stability of their entire religious and social structure. Seeing the Indians as savages they made them over in their own image as quickly as possible. In doing so they overlooked the roots that attached the Indians to their fascinating past. The importance of this past is often overlooked. Most text or history books begin the story of the Americas from the first European settlement and disregard the 30,000 years of separate, preceding cultural development (Deetz 7). The going theory of the First Americans is the ever-popular land bridge hypothesis, which connected Siberia and Alaska. This is believed to have happened at least twice during the ice ages between 32,000 and 36,000 years ago and, again between 13,000 and 28,000 years ago. This repeated connection took place where the eastern and western hemispheres come the closest to one another. The best illustration that I found explaining the land bridge was the analogy made to a seesaw. On one side being the glaciers and on the other side is sea level. When the glaciers get bigger or "go up" the sea level withdraws or "goes down". Basically when all the earth's water is in the form of snow or ice sea level is lowered. At least 180 feet lower to form that Siberian land connection. Direct proof of this... ... ago, but the way it happened is still uncharted territory". The specific date of the first migration into the Americas is unknown but there was likely more than one. The new discoveries and theories presented have given us a better understanding and more possibilities for the First American then ever before. Bibliography Begley, Sharon. "The First Americans." Newsweek Fall/Win. 1991: 15-20. Begley, Sharon and Andrew Murr. "The First Americans." Newsweek 26 Apr. 1999: 50. Claiborne, Robert. "The First Americans." New York: Time-Life Books, 1973. Dixon, E. James. Quest for the origins of the First Americans. University of New Mexico Press. 1993. Nichols, Johnanna. "The First Americans." Discover Jun. 1998: 24. Owsley, Douglas. "The First Americans." Economist 24 Feb. 1998: 79. Wright, Karen. "First Americans." Discover Feb. 1999: 52.