r due to war between the tribes. These migrating tribes might have followed animals (now extinct) to reach America, via the landmass that bridged Siberia and Alaska. This theory is supported by the following facts: 1. Geographers say that there was indeed a thousand-mile long land bridge stretching between Siberia and Alaska. 2. Fossil bones from human ancestors - like the Neanderthals have not been found in America. This is evidence enough that physiologically, modern humans first arrived in America. 3. Archaeologists in Asia claim that humans did not appear in Siberia until 35,000 years ago. Though no definite date for the arrival of Indians in America has been established, one can safely conclude that they arrived there some time after the first humans made an appearance in Asia. 4. Also climatic conditions favored migration. About 20,000 years ago, as the last ice Age made its appearance on Earth, huge glaciers covered the entire regions of Canada. Due to these glaciers a lot of water was concentrated and the water levels in the oceans went down, revealing a 1,000-mile landmass between Siberia and Alaska. Geographers have called this landmass the Bering Land Bridge or Beringia. Further, due to the glaciation much of the natural vegetation shifted southwards. The animals that are today found in cold regions followed them. For instance, the reindeer, lemmings etc. then lived in places that are extremely warm for them today. Archaeological evidence shows that the walrus existed in parts of Virginia during that age. The first American Indians were hunters and gatherers who stayed in bands of twenty to fifty people. Through the centuries, these Indians (called ’Clovis’ by archaeologists) lived and adapted themselves to the new geographical conditions after the Ice Age. And about eleven thousand years ago, these tribes died. But the others who separated from the ’Clovis’, to exploit the resources of the grassland s...
