rutgers university press a prehistory of the north human settlement of the higher latitudes nov 2004

[...]... invaded northern Eurasia 45,000 years ago retained the warm-climate anatomy of their recent African ancestors This may have kept them out of the Arctic (that is, above latitude 66° North) and forced them to abandon the colder parts of northern Eurasia (including most of Siberia) as the Last Glacial reached its cold maximum about 24,000 years ago Stage 5: Modern Humans in the Arctic The final stage may... 1.2 Map of Africa and Eurasia illustrating broad patterns of settlement in middle and higher latitudes by humans between 1.8 million and 7,000 years ago lion years ago, early humans expanded out of their tropical African base and colonized Eurasia as far as latitude 41°– 42° North This stage is primarily associated with Homo erectus and changes in anatomy and behavior that allowed humans to forage across... played an important role in the first human settlement of extreme northeast Siberia and the Americas For the first time, we have an authoritative synthesis of what little is known about far northeast Asia at the time when the Bering Land Bridge joined Siberia and Alaska From it, the case for a late settlement of the Americas, at the earliest by 19,000 years ago, becomes increasingly compelling The Cro-Magnon... Antarctica was unknown until late historic times The settlement of the colder parts of the Earth is therefore a prehistory of the North A review of the human fossil and archaeological record over the past 5 million years (that is, since the first appearance of the human family) reveals that the settlement of higher latitudes and colder environments did not occur as a result of the gradual northward drift of. .. substages The initial occupation of arctic environments took place between roughly 19,000 and 7,000 years ago, as modern humans reoccupied parts of northern Eurasia abandoned during the peak of the Last Glacial Several factors—including postglacial warming and some anatomical cold adaptations—may have triggered this event Milder climates opened the door to northeast Asia and the Bering Land Bridge, and... the equator Gorillas and chimpanzees inhabit a belt of tropical forest and woodland that stretches across western and central Africa Orangutans, somewhat less closely related to humans than the African apes, are found in similar environments on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo in the Malay archipelago.1 In the Malay language, orangutan means “forest man.” Our proximity to the living great apes was first... latitude 45° North roughly half a million years ago may have been largely a consequence of warmer climates The peak of the last major glacial advance 24,000 years ago seems to have forced modern humans to abandon large areas of northern Eurasia And rising temperatures in Siberia toward the end of the Ice Age (roughly 16,000 years ago) encouraged people to occupy the Bering Land Bridge and enter the New... were themselves newcomers to the region, having spread eastward from Alaska after AD 1000 In fact, their movement into the Canadian Arctic and Greenland was probably facilitated by the same warming climates that had encouraged the Vikings to come north The Inuit were a formidable people with a tradition of warfare They hunted bowhead whales in large boats (umiaks) and moved swiftly across the landscape... World.10 There are many other less spectacular examples from later prehistory and historic times The pattern of northward movement during episodes of warmer climate is one aspect of the human settlement of northern latitudes The same pattern may be found among plants and animals as they shift their range in response to changes in temperature and moisture During the warm interval VIKINGS IN THE ARCTIC 5 that... humans crossed into the Americas for the first time After 7,000 years ago, humans expanded into deglaciated areas of Canada and other previously uninhabited regions of the Arctic Much of their success was based on technological in- VIKINGS IN THE ARCTIC 9 novation (for example, large boats, toggle-head harpoons) that facilitated a robust maritime economy The industrial civilization that arose initially . role in the first human settlement of extreme northeast Siberia and the Americas. For the first time, we have an authoritative synthesis of what little is known about far northeast Asia at the time. terrain during glacial maxima, moving northward again with their prey as conditions warmed up. Prehistory of the North dismisses any assumptions that the colonization of the steppe-tundra was a. research, including the Leakey Foundation, National Science Foundation, Alaska Division of Parks, National Geographic Society, International Research and Exchanges Board, National Academy of Sci- ences,