DIXON, J. Human Colonization of The Americas - Timing, Technology and Process. 2001

Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299
Human colonization of the Americas: timing, technology and process

E. James Dixon *
Department of Anthropology, Denver Museum of Natural History, 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80205-5798, USA
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1560 30th street, Canpus Box 450, Boulder, CO 80304, USA
Abstract
Geological and archeological research indicates that humans "rst colonized the Americas with the use of watercraft along the
southern coast of the Bering Land Bridge and the western coast of the Americas. Early dates from a number of archeological sites in
the Americas indicate human colonization of the Americas began prior to ca. 13,000 BP. A review of archeological sites in eastern
Beringia identi"es several distinctive cultural traditions which had developed by 11,000}10,000 BP. Geological, biological, linguistic
evidence, and dated human skeletal remains all suggest human occupation of the Americas prior to ca. 11,500 BP. Glacial geology
indicates colonization could have begun ca. 14,000}13,000 BP along the western coasts of the Americas and ended about 5000 BP
with deglaciation of the Canadian eastern Arctic and coastal Greenland. The use of watercraft and coastal navigation prior to
11,000 BP are inferentially demonstrated. A model for early coastal and subsequent inland colonization of the Americas along large
ecological zones best "ts current geologic and archeological data. 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Origins
Humans evolved in the Old World, beginning in Africa
and subsequently colonizing Eurasia, Australia, and the
Americas. Many archeologists believe that the "rst humans to enter the Americas came from northeast Asia via
the Bering Land Bridge sometime ca. 12,000 years ago
about the end of the Wisconsin glaciation, the last glacial
stage of the Pleistocene Epoch in North America. However, this is not the only possible time for humans to have
reached the New World. Some archeologists (Simpson
et al., 1986; Irving et al., 1986; Carter, 1952, 1957 and
others) believe humans may have come to the Americas
200,000}150,000 years ago during earlier glacial stages
when the Bering Land Bridge formed as a result of lower
sea levels (Hopkins, 1973). However, other researchers
are of the opinion that humans "rst arrived in the Americas within the ca. 50,000 years ago during the Happy
Interval (Hopkins, 1979, 1982), and more likely within
the last 14,000 years (Hrdlic\ ka, 1928; Haynes, 1969; Grif"n, 1979). Reliably dated human skeletal remains have
not been found in the Americas which are older than
12,000 BP. This supports other evidence suggesting that
humans "rst arrived in the Americas toward the end of
* Tel.: 001-303-370-8261; fax: 001-303-331-6492.

E-mail address: jdixon@spot.colorado.edu (E. James Dixon).
the Wisconsin glaciation. Research dating late Pleistocene deglaciation indicates that terrestrial connections
between eastern Beringia and areas south of the North
American continental glaciers were not reestablished until about 11,000 BP (Jackson et al., 1997). This precludes
a mid-continental route for human entry until ca.
11,000 BP.
2. Beringia and the ice-free corridor

The Bering Land Bridge has been a cornerstone in
American paleontology and archeology for hundreds of
years. In addition to explaining the exchange of plants
and large terrestrial mammals between Asia and North
America, it is presumed that hunters of large terrestrial
mammals probably "rst entered North America
from Asia via the Land Bridge. The traditional explanation is that humans then moved south through central
western Canada sometime about 11,500 BP, either
through a hypothetical ice-free corridor or after the
continental glaciers melted (Fig. 1). According to
this theory, the pattern of Old World mammoth hunting
was transposed to North America near the end of the
last ice age by peoples using Clovis, or Clovis-like
technology.
There is little evidence to support the traditional paradigm of mammoth hunters `expandinga from the Asian
0277-3791/01/$ - see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 2 7 7 - 3 7 9 1 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 1 6 - 5
278
E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299
Fig. 1. Map depicting the traditional Beringian-midcontinental human

route for human colonization of the Americas (modi"ed from Dixon
1999).
steppe into Beringia and southward through what is now

interior Canada into more southern regions of the Americas. The only places from which there is "rm evidence for
mammoth hunting is on both sides of Beringia, not
Beringia itself (Haynes, 1991, pp. 208}213). However,
blood residues preserved on Northern Paleoindian projectile points suggests that mammoth may have been
hunted in eastern Beringia possibly as late as 10,500 BP
(Dixon, 1993; Loy and Dixon, 1998).
North American glacial chronology establishes maximum and minimum limiting dates for human colonization of North America. Deglaciation along the
northwest coast of North America was su$ciently advanced to enable human settlement by at least 13,000 BP.
However, the interior Bering Land Bridge/mid Continental route was not deglaciated before ca. 11,000 BP.
Extreme northeastern North America was not deglaciated until ca. 5000 BP, thus providing the last opportunity for large-scale colonization sometime shortly
thereafter (Fig. 8).
3. Oldest archeological sites in the Americas

There is no professional consensus on the time humans
"rst colonized the Americas. There is widespread concurrence that the Clovis complex (11,500}11,000 BP) pro-
vides a minimum limiting date for human colonization.

Some archeologists believe that the Clovis complex represents the tangible remains of America's "rst colonists.
However, numerous archeological sites have been
reported from North and South America that some archeologists believe predate Clovis and the deglaciation of
central northern North America.
North American archeologists have established protocols to test the validity of Pleistocene archeological remains in the Americas (Haynes, 1967; Jennings, 1974;
Gri$n, 1979; Stanford, 1979). Some of the more important or better known North American sites include
Meadowcroft Rock Shelter in Pennsylvania (Adovasio et
al., 1977, 1978, 1980), the Dutton and Selby sites in
Colorado (Stanford, 1979, 1983; Graham, 1981), the
Manis Mastadon site (Gustafson et al., 1979), and Valsequillo in southeastern Mexico (Irwin-Williams,
1967, 1969, 1978). South American sites include Pedra
Furada in northeast Brazil (Guidon and Delibrias, 1986;
Delibrias et al., 1988; Parenti et al., 1990) Tiama-Tiama
in northern Venezuela (Rouse and Cruxent, 1966;
Cruxent and Ochsenius, 1979; Bryan, 1979; Bryan and
Gruhn, 1979) and Monte Verde in southern Chile (Dillehay, 1989, 1997). While the age or the cultural origin of
all these sites are controversial, Monte Verde is accepted
as a pre-Clovis site.
Monte Verde, located in south-central Chile, is a campsite re#ecting a wide range of human activity including
residential structures and exceptionally well-preserved
organic remains including bone, wood and other materials. The site has been scienti"cally excavated under the
direction of Dillehay and his fellow researchers (Dillehay,
1997). A series of eight stratigraphic units (labeled
youngest to oldest, MV-1 through MV-8) have been
described and dated by seven concordant C determinations. Artifacts and other evidence of human occupation
have been recovered from MV-7, which is capped by
a layer of peat that sealed and preserved the archeological materials.
Dillehay (1984, 1986, 1997; Collins and Dillehay, 1986)
reports the remains of at least 12 dwellings, presumably
covered with animal skins, containing shallow clay-lined
braziers. Large `communala hearths were found with the
remains of edible seeds, nuts, fruits, and berries, and
wood artifacts have been recovered including mortars,
wooden hafts containing stone #akes, digging sticks,
a pointed lance or spear, and vast amounts of worked
wood. Although there are a few well-made bifacially
#aked stone tools, most of the lithic industry consists of
individual #akes, split pebbles and other stones exhibiting little modi"cation from their natural states. There are
many nearly spherical forms, a few of which are grooved
and were possibly used as bola weights and/or stones for
slings. Although no human remains were recovered, foot
prints of a child or small adolescent were preserved on
the surface of MV-7. No geologic or other noncultural
processes have been identi"ed to suggest this suite of

evidence could have been produced by any mechanism
other than human occupation. Monte Verde meets,
or exceeds, the criteria establishing pre-Clovis validity
for archeological sites in the Americas (Meltzer et al.,
1997).
Two hearth-like features suggest the possibility that
there may be an even earlier occupation at the site. They
were discovered stratigraphically below unit MV-7,
about 70 m north of the main occupation (Dillehay and
Collins, 1988; Dillehay, 1997). Two C determinations
from these features are 33,370$530 (Beta-6754) and
'33,020 (Beta-7825). Scattered about them were 26
naturally fractured stones, which appear to have been
used by people. In the absence of other evidence, the
investigators are not certain that these features present
unequivocal evidence of human occupation.
4. Human remains
Unlike the Old World, the New World lacks human
remains anatomically similar to very early human forms
such as Homo erectus, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, or
even Archaic Homo sapiens. Human remains found in the
New World appear to be completely modern humans,
Homo sapiens. The only possible evidence to the contrary
is the inconclusive identi"cation of a human supraorbital
ridge from the Chapala Basin, Mexico, which has been
compared to the supraorbital ridge from Old World
examples of Homo erectus. However, Solorzano (1990;
Haley and Solorzano, 1991) cautions that this identi"cation has been made on a small fragment of bone. Other
researchers suggest that this bone may not be human, but
rather derived from the fragmentary remains of another
element from a di!erent species. Another report of pre
Homo sapiens from the New World is a curious article
and illustration of an archaic human calvarium (skull
cap) by Bryan (1978, pp. 318}321) which, since his description, has disappeared.
The three oldest sets of reliably dated human remains
from north America are from Fishbone Cave, in western
Nevada; Arlington Springs on Santa Rosa Island,
California; and the Anzick site, Montana. Radiocarbon
dates of 11,555$500 BP (no lab C cited) and 10,900$
300 BP (L-245) BP were reported from Fishbone Cave by
Orr (1956, p. 3) for level 4. This level contains the partial
remains of a human skeleton consisting of the burned
remains of a left foot, a clavicle, and a "bula.
Two human femora, a humerus and an unidenti"ed
bone were found about 37.5 ft (11 m) below the surface
on Santa Rosa Island (Orr, 1962, p. 418). Based on the
size of the femora, Orr suggested they were the remains of
an adult male. These remains have become known as
Arlington Man. Chemical analysis demonstrated that the
bone was fossilized suggesting considerable antiquity
279
(Oakley, 1963). Charcoal from the stratigraphic unit containing the human remains was C dated to
10,400$200 BP (L-568A) and 10,000$200 (L-650)
(Orr, 1962, p. 419). Although the human bone originally
submitted was considered unsuitable for C analysis
(Morris, cited in Erlandson, 1994, p. 186), Berger and
Protsh (1989, p. 59) were able to obtain a C determination of 10,080$810 BP from a long bone of Arlington
Man. Controversy over the age of the human remains has
focused on the large standard deviation associated with
this date and the fact that there was only one C determination. To address the controversy, additional AMS
C determinations were run by Johnson and Sta!ord
(1997, pers. comm.) resulting in an AMS C date of
10,970$80 (CAMS-16810) on collagen from the human
bone and another AMS C determination of
11,490$70 on Peromyscus sp. bone collagen directly
associated with the human remains. Arlington Man also
provides the earliest evidence for the use of watercraft in
North America because Santa Rosa Island was not connected to mainland North America during the last ice age
(Erlandson, 1994, p. 183).
The Anzick rock shelter located in Montana was accidentally discovered in 1968 (Jones and Bonnichsen,
1994). The site and context of the artifacts and human
remains were largely destroyed by construction activities
before they were examined by trained scientists. The
burial(s) contained two individuals and an assemblage of
more than 100 stone and bone artifacts. Both individuals
are described as `subadultsa (Wilke et al., 1991). Two
very small pieces of human crania, one from each individual, were directly dated by the AMS method. One was
bleached white and the other stained with hematite
(ochre). The bleached crania dated 8600$90 BP and the
ochre-stained bone dated 10,680$50 BP (Sta!ord, 1990,
p. 121; 1994, p. 49}51). More recently a second C AMS
date of 11,550$60 (CAMS-35912) has been obtained on
gelatin from the ochre-stained crania (Sta!ord, pers.
comm., 1997). It is di$cult to explain the di!erence in
these two dates, and resolution of this problem will
require additional dating.
Direct AMS dating of human bone provides unequivocal proof and limiting dates for humans in the Americas.
The oldest human remains from Anzick, Fishbone Cave,
and Arlington Springs appear to be between ca.
11,500}11,000 BP. This indicates that by this time human
population density had achieved a level su$cient to
assure the survival and discovery of fossil remains over
a broad geographic areas and from di!erent depositional
environments. Prior to ca. 11,000}11,500 BP the North
American human population may have been extremely
small or geographically restricted. Toth (1991, p. 55) has
suggested that if we assume a model for the colonization
of the Americas as ever increasing population over time,
the odds of documenting the very earliest evidence of
human occupation are very slim.
280
5. Biological and linguistic evidence

Linguistics and biological anthropology demonstrate
that Native Americans most likely came to the Americas
from northeast Asia. Turner (1983) has studied the dentition of Native Americans and northeast Asians. Based on
about 20 dental traits, such as the shape of tooth crowns
and the number of tooth roots, he has de"ned an overall
dental pattern which he calls `Sinodontya. This distinctive dental pattern is shared among Native Americans
and people from northeast Asia. However, Sinodonty is
not found in people who originated in southern Asia,
Africa, or Europe. Another less complex dental pattern,
called Sundadonty, is shared among peoples of Southeast
Asia and occurs in some early Native American skeletons
including Kennewick Man (Chatters, 1997). Turner
(1992, p. 6) concludes that because there has been less
dental evolution in the Americas, the New World has
been occupied for less time than Asia, and that widespread Sinodonty demonstrates a northeast Asian origin
for Native Americans. However, Merriwether et al. (1996)
identify Mongolia as a more likely point of origin for
New World founding populations based on their analysis
of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of Native Mongolians.
Turner (1983, 1985, 1992) recognizes three subdivisions
of Sinodonty based on the dental characteristics, and
proposes that colonization of the Americas occurred in
three distinct migrations. The "rst were ancestors of the
peoples of South America and southern North America.
The second were ancestors of Native Americans residing
in interior Alaska and along the Northwest Coast. The
third were the Aleut-Eskimo who occupy the coastal
fringes of Alaska. Some genetic research may support
Turner's `three wavea model (Williams et al., 1985).
The dental evidence appears to correspond with linguistic data compiled by Greenberg (Greenberg et al.,
1986; Greenberg, 1987, 1997). By applying a process
called `mass comparisona, he lumped Native American
languages into three groups called Amerind, Na-Dene
and Eskimo-Aleut. The linguistic data appear to correlate well with the dental evidence. It suggests that the "rst
arrivals to settle the Americas were the ancestors of the
Amerinds, the second `wavea were the ancestors of the
Na-Dene and the last to emigrate to the New World were
the Eskimo-Aleut (Greenberg et al., 1987).
The analysis of nuclear, and mitochondrial DNA has
led to alternative conclusions. In analyzing mtDNA from
Native Americans, Schurr et al. (1990) recognized four
basic mtDNA lineages, or haplogroups, which they
labeled A}D. The fact that only four lineages could be
identi"ed suggests that the founding population(s) may
have been very small. All four lineages occur in all Native
American populations, but it is not clear how this information can be interpreted properly. Based on mtDNA
analysis, Torroni et al. (1992) conclude that Amerind and
Na-Dene populations were founded by two separate migrations. However, research by Horai et al. (1996) draws
the conclusion that the four haplogroups are evidence of
four respective ancestral populations that migrated to the
Americas gradually in di!erent `wavesa. On the other
hand, Merriwether et al. (1995) reason that because all
four founding lineages are found in all Native American
populations, the concept of a single migration with all
four lineages being derived from the original founding
population is probable. Other researchers (Bailliet et al.,
1994; Lorenz and Smith, 1996) report evidence suggesting there may have been at least one more halplogroup
in Native American populations prior to contact with
Europeans. Although the conclusions drawn from this
research are controversial, mtDNA research raises serious challenges to the `three wavea migration model
based on the analysis of contemporary languages and
prehistoric dental traits.
Archeologists have long recognized the di$culty in
identifying genetic, ethnic, and linguistic `signaturesa in
the archeological record. Although much work remains
to be done, it is clear that to establish migration of
people, it is necessary to document a culture in one
region and subsequently document it in another. To do
this, it is necessary to identify material traits that can be
reliably attributed to a speci"c culture. The early archeology of eastern Beringia and North America is so poorly
understood, that this is impossible to do except at gross
levels of comparison.
6. Colonization processes
There is no need to think of human migration as
a speci"c event. Humans may have populated the Americas in small numbers, or migratory `dribblesa, over long
periods of time (Meltzer, 1989). Some migrations may
have been successful, and others may not have been.
Some of these small groups of early migrants could have
been genetically swamped by later groups, exterminated
by warfare or by the introduction of disease, too small to
be viable, or unable to adapt to new environments.
If the earliest immigrants were few in number, had
technology derived from perishable organic material, and
survived for only a short time, the evidence of their
passing would be extremely di$cult to detect in the
archeological record. This would be even more di$cult if
these early peoples lacked what archeologists consider to
be diagnostic artifact types, such as #uted stone projectile
points. There would be no genetic or linguistic evidence
in extant populations if the colonists did not survive, and
there may not exist a continuous archeological record
extending from the Pleistocene to later well-documented
North American archeological sites. It is possible that
there were sporadic colonization events that are not
connected to subsequent development of New World
archeology. Tracing the migration of speci"c groups of

people is extremely di$cult in the archeological record.
Some researchers believe that ecological disequilibrium may result in human dispersals and that initial
contact between humans and select species may
cause their extinction. Paul S. Martin (1967, 1973, 1974)
has advanced the `overkill hypothesisa which postulates
that the "rst human hunters to enter the Americas
were responsible for the extinction of approximately
70 genera. According to this scenario, as humans
moved into the Americas, they encountered large
mammals that had developed no e!ective means of
evading intelligent and sophisticated human predators,
and humans quickly hunted these large mammals to
extinction.
Kelley and Todd (1988; Kelly, 1996) have advanced
a variation of Martin's model. They suggest that the "rst
Paleoindians were technologically based foragers. Unlike
modern foragers who are geographically based and generally con"ned by neighboring foraging groups, the earliest human groups in North America may have relied
more on knowledge of animal behavior and technology
rather than knowledge of geography. This may have
enabled them to move from region to region exploiting
various species, some of which may have been preferred.
Such a subsistence strategy could result in comparatively
rapid human `migrationa and the extinction of select
species.
Aquatic metaphors such as `wavesa, `tricklesa,
`dribblesa, and `drifta are frequently used to describe the
peopling of the Americas. However, these `termsa tell us
little, if anything, about the actual processes of human
colonization. Currently there exist very few models for
the peopling of the Americas. Mosimann and Martin
(1975) demonstrated that humans could have colonized
both North America and South America in approximately 1000 years and concurrently killed o! the large
Pleistocene mammals. Some scientists counter that dramatic change in climate caused the extinction of ice age
mammals, while others suggest that a combination of
both climatic change and human predators were the
cause.
Wormington (1983, p. 192) believed that human colonization of the Americas took much longer than the model
proposed by Mosimann and Martin. In her view, early
hunters and gatherers needed more time to develop familiarity with their environment and its resources, and
once they had gained this knowledge they were reluctant
to move. She regarded environmental change and population pressure as the causal mechanisms for human
groups to move. This type of model requires a much
greater amount of time for humans to colonize the
American continents than that advocated by Mosimann
and Martin (1975).
In their attempt to model the human colonization of
the Americas, Mosimann and Martin (1975) rely heavily
281
on the work of Birdsell (1957), who derived his statistics

from his research of human population expansion on
Pitcarin * a remote Paci"c island that was uninhabited
until 1790, when it was colonized by nine mutineers from
HMS Bounty and 19 Polynesians. While these data may
be correct and useful in the contexts of the ecology of
small islands, Beaton (1991a) suggests it is not applicable
for Australia, a large land mass of continental proportion
similar to the Americas. It may be inappropriate to
extrapolate the human environmental impact from small
Paci"c islands to continental land masses.
Furthermore, it is necessary to emphasize that the
scale of investigative resolution "t the scale of the problem (Beaton, 1991a, p. 220). In other words, when attempting to address human colonization of continents,
such as the initial peopling of the Americas or Australia,
it is more useful to look at large, or macro, environmental
zones. Such large environmental zones, or biomes, include regions such as coastlines, rather than smaller
ecological areas such as estuaries or headlands. These
macroenvironmental regions, or biomes, are what Beaton (1991a) calls `megapatchesa, which are large environmental zones or areas such as coasts, forests, deserts,
and mountains.
The major physiographic and ecological regions of the
Americas tend to be oriented linearly from north}south.
For example, the western cordillera of North America
form a huge mountainous `spinea extending from Alaska
to Arizona, the plains extend from Alberta, Canada to
northern Mexico, and the western coastal coniferous
forest stretches from Alaska to California.
The bow wave model proposed by Mosimann and
Martin (1973) is illustrated in Fig. 2. It is characterized by
bow-shaped lines, or `wavesa, symbolizing the sequential
advance of the human population at approximately the
same latitude. By comparison, the ecological zone model
illustrated in Fig. 8 is characterized by more vertical lines
that parallel the major environmental zones, such as the
coast and the western Cordillera.
Linear north-to-south colonization could have also
occurred along ecotones, which are zones of transition
between two or more biomes. These transitional environments may have been the `megapatch of choicea, possibly being more productive than either of the adjacent
biomes and possibly permitting people access to resources in adjacent biomes. On a very large (continental)
level of analysis the coastal zone could be regarded as an
ecotone, where the resources of both the marine and
terrestrial biomes are available.
In relatively linear environmental zones such as river
systems or coastal margins, colonization might be expected to be rapid, possibly resulting in high-velocity
settlement in conjunction with the use of watercraft.
In other types of ecological settings, colonization may
have occurred at a much slower rate. With colonization
occurring along major environmental zones, it may be
282
Fig. 2. The hypothetical `Bow Wavea model for the human colonization of the Americas from North to South (modi"ed from Mosimann and Martin,
1975, and reproduced from Dixon 1999, p. 36 with permission of University of New Mexico Press).
reasonable to assume that di!erent environmental regions of the Americas were colonized at di!erent times.
For example, coastal zones may have been inhabited
long before the interior plains or deserts.
7. Early archeology of eastern Beringia

Three archeological traditions and two complexes
have been identi"ed in eastern Beringia and the Paci"c
Northwest. The earliest is the Nenana complex (older
than 11,600}10,500 BP), discovered at several sites in
Interior Alaska. Archeologists have not ascertained the
origins of the Nenana complex.
The second major cultural development is called the
American Paleoarctic tradition (10,500}8,000 BP). It is
derived from Asia and has its technological roots in the

late Upper Paleolithic microblade industries of Eurasia.
The hallmark of this tradition is microblade technology.
The American Paleoarctic tradition is subdivided here
into three regional variants: (1) the "rst retains the original name, the American Paleoarctic tradition, (2) the
Denali complex, and (3) the Northwest Coast Microblade tradition.
The third major cultural development in eastern Beringia is the Northern Paleoindian tradition (ca.
10,500}8500 BP), believed to be a northern manifestation
of the Paleoindian tradition of western North America.
The American Paleoarctic tradition, the Northern
Paleoindian tradition, and Denali complex are cotraditions. Co-traditions existed when people living
in adjacent regions practiced di!erent ways of life
and made di!erent types of tools during the same period

of time. Each of these traditions is reviewed brie#y to
demonstrate how they support a coastal colonization
model.
8. Nenana complex (ca. '11,600}10,500 BP)

The Nenana complex (greater than 11,600 BP}
10,500 BP) is de"ned on the basis of stone artifacts which
date to the same time period found in Alaska's Nenana
River valley (Powers and Ho!ecker, 1990). Field research
in the upper Tanana River Valley in the early 1990s
discovered similar artifact assemblages (Fig. 3). Nenana
complex peoples may have been con"ned to interior
Alaska prior to melting of Brooks Range glaciers
(Hamilton and Goebel, 1999). Artifact types that de"ne
the Nenana complex are: (1) triangular and `teardropshapeda projectile points and knives, (2) straight- or
concave- based lanceolate projectile points, (3) perforators, (4) end and side scrapers, (5) burins, (6) hammer
and anvil stones, (7) unifacial knives and scrapers. Flakes,
small stone wedges (piece esquille'e), and lithic debitage
are also associated with these sites. These diagnostic
types of stone artifacts have been found at Component
283
I at the Dry Creek site, the Walker Road site and the
Moose Creek site. Another Nenana complex site in
the Teklanika River valley has been dated to 11,340$
150 BP and contains the same types of artifacts (Phippen,
1988).
Radiocarbon dates from Components I at the Walker
Road and Dry Creek sites range between ca. 11,800
and 11,000 BP, averaging ca. 11,300 BP (Powers and
Ho!ecker, 1990, p. 278). Nenana complex sites are found
near the bottom of thick sections of windblown sediments that began to accumulate during the early Birch
interval (ca. 14,000 BP).
The earliest "rmly dated archeological remains ascribed to the Nenana complex come from sites located in
Alaska's Tanana River Valley: the Broken Mammoth,
Mead, and Swan Point sites. Extensive excavations have
not been conducted at the Mead site. The oldest paleosol
identi"ed at the site is dated to ca. 11,600 BP, from which
a cylindrical ivory object, a scraper, a few biface fragments and waste #akes, and possibly a small projectile
point fragment were recovered.
The Broken Mammoth site has yielded more information. This site is important because it is well strati"ed,
contains four major periods of cultural occupation, and
exhibits concurrent C determinations. It is possibly
Fig. 3. Map depicting the location of important archeological sites and site components ascribed to the Nenana complex (modi"ed from Dixon, 1993
and reproduced with permission of University of New Mexico Press).
284
the oldest reliably dated site in Alaska. A series of

nine C determinations indicate Cultural Zone IV was
occupied between ca. 11,700}11,000 BP. Cultural remains from Zone IV include waste #akes, a quartz `chopper/scraper/planea, retouched #akes, biface thinning
#akes, scrap fossil ivory, and a cache of tools made of
fossil ivory consisting of two cigar shaped `pointsa and
a possible handle (Yesner, 1996).
At Swan Point the oldest cultural level (ca. 11,660 BP)
contains worked mammoth tusk fragments (probably
scavenged `fossila ivory dated to 12,060$70 (NSRL2001, CAMS-17045)), microblades, microblade core
preparation #akes, blades, split quartz pebble chopper/planes, dihedral burins, and red ochre. The next
oldest occupation, dated by one C determination to
10,230$80 BP, (BETA-56666, CAMS-4251) (Holmes et
al., 1996), lacks microblades and contains small lanceolate points with convex/straight bases, thin triangular
points, gravers made on broken points and quartz pebble
choppers or hammers. Although the ca. 11,660 year old
component appears anomalous based on the presence of
a microblade technology, the later occupation dating to
ca. 10,230 BP is consistent in its artifact assemblage with
other Nenana complex sites.
Swan Point is an anomaly because it appears to have
a microblade industry more than a thousand years earlier
than anywhere else in Interior Alaska, even earlier than
similar assemblages from western Beringia. The Denali
complex at Swan Point is dated by two C samples. One
was from mammoth ivory dating to 12,060$70
(CAMS-17045) which was probably older scavenged
ivory (Holmes et al., 1996, p. 323). The other dates,
11,660$70 BP (BETA-56667. CAMS-4252) and
11,660$60 BP (BETA-71372, CAMS-12389), were run
on willow and poplar charcoal derived from a cultural
hearth associated with the microblades (Holmes et al.,
1996, p. 321). Goebel and Hamilton (1999) suggest that
the microblades may have been mixed with older charcoal immediately after the deposition of a pebbly colluvial layer and immediately before the overlying loess
began to accumulate. The older dates could also result
from other factors such as burning older `fossila wood.
Swan Point is still in the early stages of investigation and
additional research is required to resolve the age of the
early microblade component and its relationship to the
Nenana complex.
The Healy Lake Village Site contains distinctive `tear
dropa-shaped bifaces, called `Chindadna points, found in
the lower levels (Cook, 1969, 1996). Chindadn points are
generally small and occasionally ground on one lateral
edge, suggesting they were dulled for hafting and used as
knives. This distinctive artifact occurs in Nenana complex type sites, and other sites in the Tanana valley.
Component I of the Owl Ridge site also has been ascribed to the Nenana complex and radiocarbon dated to
11,340$150 BP (Beta-11209) (Phippen, 1988).
The relationship between the Nenana complex and

somewhat earlier Tanana Valley sites is not well understood. Preliminary data suggest that both groups of sites
share a number of common traits, and may be regional
and temporal variants of a larger tradition or complex.
With the notable exception of Swan Point, all lack
evidence of microblade technology. All contain small
triangular bifacially #aked projectile points, some of
which have concave bases and are basally thinned, and
many sites contain distinctive pointed ovate `Chindadna
bifaces.
Except for the few gastroliths, the original evidence
from Dry Creek suggested that Nenana complex peoples
were big game hunters primarily hunting elk and sheep.
However, additional data from the Broken Mammoth
site demonstrates a more generalized opportunistic
gathering economy which included harvesting waterfowl,
gathering eggs, and hunting and/or trapping small
mammals. Large mammal hunting, particularly for
bison, elk and sheep, was important. Proboscidean
remains (mammoth or mastodon ivory) resulted from
collecting fossil ivory rather than mammoth or mastodon
hunting.
Trace element analysis indicates that obsidian from the
Wrangell Mountains occurs in the lowest levels at Broken Mammoth and Walker Road sites. Obsidian from
the Batza Tena source on the south side of the Brooks
Range also occurs in Tanana valley Nenana complex
sites. These discoveries demonstrate that a widespread
trade network was already in place in interior Alaska
probably as early as ca. 11,700 BP (Hamilton and
Goebel, in press).
All sites ascribed to the Nenana complex were small
camps generally located on blu!s with panoramic views.
They appear to have been occupied by small groups of
people for brief periods of time. No human remains or
evidence of structures have yet been found and "res
appear to have been built directly on the surface of the
ground with little or no preparation of the area. Charcoal
is generally scattered and relatively scarce for dating
purposes. Minute unidenti"able calcined bone fragments
have been recovered frequently from these hearths, suggesting bone was burned as fuel, for ritual purposes, or to
keep camps clean. Red ochre has been reported associated with several Nenana complex occupations (Goebel
and Powers, 1989; Phippen, 1988, p. 118; Powers and
Ho!ecker, 1990, p. 281, Holmes et al., 1996).
Most sites were probably open-air camps probably
using skin tents or temporary tent-like structures. Although no structural remains were discovered, the spatial
distribution of more than 130 artifacts around a circular
clay-lined hearth at the Walker Road site were interpreted to be the location of a circular tent about 5 m in
diameter (Goebel and Powers, 1989; Powers et al., 1990).
The full range of the Nenana complex settlement pattern
and subsistence cycle is still poorly understood.
Fig. 4. Map depicting the location of important archeological sites and

site components ascribed to the American Paleoarctic tradition (modi"ed from Dixon, 1993 and reproduced with permission of University of
New Mexico Press).
9. American Paleoarctic tradition (ca. 10,500}7000 BP)

Anderson (1970, p. 69) "rst de"ned the American
Paleoarctic tradition to include the Akmak and Band
8 assemblages from the Onion Portage site, the early
microblades from the Trail Creek Caves, and various
undated assemblages from the Brooks Range characterized by wedged-shaped microblade cores, microblades,
and other artifact types. Since that time the American
Paleoarctic tradition has been used to lump a wide variety
of early microblade and microcore assemblages which are
widely dispersed throughout eastern Beringia (Fig. 4).
Because so many regional variants and di!erent economic systems have been subsumed under the American
Paleoarctic tradition, the term has lost much of its descriptive utility and is no longer very useful as a tradition
in classic de"nition of the term. It has been divided into
three basic units: (1) the American Paleoarctic tradition,
(2) the Denali complex, and (3) the Northwest Coast
Microblade tradition (Dixon, in press).
The diagnostic lithic artifacts associated with the
American Paleoarctic tradition include wedge-shaped
285
microblade cores, microblades, blades and blade cores,

core bifaces, antler arrow points slotted to receive microblades, grooved stone abraders, and waste #akes. The
geographic distribution includes the coastal margins of
Bering and Chukchi Seas, the Arctic Ocean, and adjacent
terrestrial environments. It extends south roughly to the
limit of winter sea ice. Economically, it probably had two
aspects, (1) marine mammal hunting, including winter sea
ice hunting and (2) exploitation of adjacent non-coastal
regions to "sh and hunt for terrestrial mammals. When
moving inland from the coast, it is di$cult to identify
where economies based solely on interior environments
begin and coastal economic practices are abandoned.
Perhaps these di!erent economies are best viewed as
gradational, with greater and greater reliance placed on
non-marine resources as one moves away from the coast
toward the interior.
The archeological record is obscured along Bering and
Chukchi Sea coasts because of Holocene sea level rise.
However, the persistence of the American Paleoarctic
tradition is suggested along the Bering Sea coast. For
example, Anderson (1986, p. 313) suggests that the Lower
Bench site at Cape Krusenstern may be a transitional
microblade assemblage between the American Paleoarctic tradition and the later Arctic Small Tool tradition.
Shortly after sea level stabilized, there is widespread
recognition of the Arctic Small Tool tradition along the
Bering and Chukchi Sea coast. In regions where tectonic
uplift or isostatic rebound have outpaced sea level rise,
such as Anangula Island, it is clear from the location of
the sites adjacent to the sea that they were adapted to
a marine economy.
A single C determination from Locality I at the
Gallagher Flint Station may suggest that American
Paleoarctic populations may have been in place in interior areas adjacent to the coast possibly as early as ca.
10,500 (Dixon, 1975). On the Alaska Peninsula, Paleoarctic tradition occupations are documented from the
lowest levels of the Ugashik Narrows site and at Kvichak
Bay (Dumond, 1977; Dumond et al., 1976; Henn, 1978).
Five radiocarbon determinations indicate that these assemblages range between ca. 9000 and 7000 BP. The
Ugashik Narrows site, located along a river with a major
salmon run, where large mammals such as caribou and
moose may easily cross the river, suggests that "shing
and large-mammal hunting were important economic
activities.
10. The Denali complex (10,500}8000 BP)

Throughout Interior Alaska and the Yukon Territory,
a number of archeological sites have been documented
date between ca. 10,500 and 8000 BP and contain bifacial
biconvex knives, end scrapers, large blades and bladelike #akes, prepared microblade cores, core tablets,
286
microblades, burins, burin spalls, worked #akes, and

retouched #akes. This suite of artifacts was de"ned by
West (1967, 1974) as the Denali complex. Since that time
the list of associated lithic traits has been increased to
include large blade cores, straight and convex based
projectile points with constricting sides, elongate bifaces,
spokeshaves, and abraders. The term Denali complex is
retained here because it has priority in the literature and is
applied to a restricted region (interior regions of eastern
Beringia lacking a coastal/marine economic component).
Component II at Dry Creek suggests that the Denali
complex "rst appears in interior Alaska ca. 10,690$250
based on the overall site stratigraphy and C dating
(Powers and Ho!ecker, 1989). Component II at nearby
Panguingue Creek has several C determinations
bracketing this occupation between 8500 and 7500 BP
(Powers and Maxwell, 1986; Goebel and Bigelow, 1996).
West (1996, pp. 375}380; West and others, 1996,
pp. 381}408) reports numerous sites from glacial terrain
in the Tangle Lakes region of the southcentral Alaska
Range which contain typical Denali complex assemblages. All are relatively shallow sites (less than 50 cm
deep) primarily situated on the top of glacial features,
some of which appear to have reliable radiocarbon determinations dating Denali complex occupations between
ca. 10,500 and 8000 BP. Numerous other sites containing
Denali complex occupations have been reported
throughout the interior, including the Healy Lake Village
site (Cook, 1969; Cook and Mckennan, 1970). In the
upper Susitna River drainage, Dixon and Smith (1990)
identi"ed six sites which they ascribed to the Denali
complex based on typological traits, stratigraphic position within a series of regional tephras, and radiocarbon
dating. The Campus Site is now considered to be late
Holocene in age based on a reevaluation of the site and
associated artifacts by Mobly (1991).
Numerous Denali complex sites have been reported
from a variety of ecological settings throughout interior
eastern Beringia. The ecological setting of interior sites
indicate an economy which included large mammal
hunting and freshwater aquatic resources. Faunal remains from Component II at Dry Creek include bison
and sheep. Many of the sites in the Alaska Range and
Susitna River drainage are ideally situated for caribou
hunting. Although data are sketchy, most sites are
relatively small, lacking evidence of structures or other
features which might be indicative of permanent or
semi-permanent settlements. Organic artifacts are rare
and little is known about these residents of the interior.
11. The Northwest Coast Microblade Tradition

(ca. 10,500}(7000 BP)
This tradition was "rst called the Early Boreal tradition (Borden, 1969, 1975), and later given a variety of
names, including the Early Coast Microblade complex

(Fladmark, 1975), the Microblade tradition (Carlson,
1979, 1981), Early Coast and North Coast Microblade
complex (Fladmark, 1982), the Marine Paleoarctic tradition (Davis, 1989), and the Maritime Paleoarctic tradition (Jordan, 1992). Rather than add to this confusing
nomenclature, this presentation simply uses the term
Northwest Coast Microblade tradition, which is in keeping with Fladmark (1975) and descriptively includes both
the geographic area and hallmark technological trait, the
shared use of microblade technology. These sites extend
from the Kodiak Archipelago southeastward along the
Paci"c Rim through Southeast Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and the northern Great Basin
(Dumond, 1962).
A marine economy is indicated for most sites by faunal
remains, ecological settings and isotope analysis of human remains from Prince of Wales Island (Dixon et al.,
1997). The northern geographic limit of this tradition is
di$cult to ascertain, but could extend to the south side of
the Alaska Peninsula where there is no winter pack ice.
Marine subsistence in the Northwest Coast Microblade
tradition is adapted to year round open water, rugged
forested coasts characterized by fjords, islands, and rocky
headlands, calving glaciers, major salmon runs, salt water
"shing and intertidal shell "sh resources.
It has not been determined when this tradition "rst
appeared along the Northwest Coast. Rising sea level
inundated most coastal areas older than ca. 9500 BP.
Preserved sites include Beluga Point ca. 7000}8000 BP
(Reger, 1996, p. 434). Craig Point, 7790$620 BP (Jordan,
1992), Component III, Ground Hog Bay 2, 10,180$800
and 9130$130 BP (Ackerman et al., 1979; Ackerman,
1996a, b). Hidden Falls, Component I, ca. 9000 BP (Davis,
1989, p. 194), Locality 1 at the Chuck Lake, Locality 1, ca.
8200 BP (Ackerman et al., 1985), Rice Creek, ca. 9000 BP
(Ackerman, 1996a, b, p. 127 and 130), and the Thorne
River site ca. 7500 BP (Holmes, 1988; Holmes et al., 1989).
Obsidian from Hidden Falls and Ground Hog Bay is from
Sumez Island (adjacent to Prince of Wales in the Alexander Archipelago) and Mt. Edziza (upper Sitkine River,
northern British Columbia) (Nelson, 1976, cited in Ackerman, 1996a, b). This early trade in obsidian required the
use of water craft (Ackerman, 1992; Davis, 1989; Erlandson et al., 1992), and implies that the area must have been
occupied earlier in order to discover these obsidian sources and develop trade networks.
PET-408 is located on the northern end of Prince of
Wales Island, southeast Alaska. Human skeletal remains
from this site have been C dated to ca. 9800 BP. (Dixon
et al., 1997). Isotopic values for the human bone indicate
a diet based primarily on marine resources and dC
values for the human bone are similar to those obtained
for ringed seal, sea otter, and marine "sh. These data
indicate a diet based primarily on sea foods and that the
marine carbon reservoir has a!ected the accuracy of the
C determinations. In the Queen Charlotte Islands to

the south, a ca. 600 year C di!erence in the regional
marine and atmospheric carbon cycles has been
documented by comparison of C determinations on
wood and shell (Fedje, McSporran and Mason, 1996,
p. 118). This suggests that the dates on the human remains from PET-408 should be corrected by subtracting
ca. 600 C years. Presuming this correction factor can be
applied to Prince of Wales Island, the corrected age for
the human is ca. 9200 BP.
The human remains from PET-408 are probably contemporaneous with a microblade bearing cultural horizon at the site which has been dated by C wood
charcoal to ca. 9200 BP (Dixon et al., 1997). This demonstrates a maritime adaptation by microblade using
peoples along the northwest coast by ca. 9200 BP. An
individual bone tool, possibly an awl or punch, manufactured from terrestrial mammal bone from 49-PET-408
has been AMS dated to 10,300$50 BP (CAMS-42381).
This C determination and other evidence suggest that
PET-408 was occupied during the late Pleistocene.
Fedje and Josenhans (pers. comm., 1998) recovered
a basalt blade-like #ake from the continental shelf of
British Columbia. Based on local sea level rise at the end
of the Pleistocene, this locale would probably have been
covered by rising sea level about or shortly before
10,000 BP, thus suggesting the site may have been occupied ca. 10,300 BP (Josenhans et al., 1997). Although
these data and the ca. 10,300 BP date on a bone tool from
PET-4089 are preliminary, they suggest humans occupied the northwest coast of North America at the end of
the last ice age when sea level was lower and the continental margins of western North America were exposed
as dry land.
In coastal British Columbia, Fladmark (1982) de"ned
an early Holocene cultural complex contemporaneous
with early southeast Alaska sites (Carlson, 1990, 1996;
Fladmark, 1990; Stryd and Rousseau, 1996; Fedje et al.,
1996; and others). Despite the more extensive research in
British Columbia, there are few sites reported which can
be demonstrated to be older than 10,000 BP (Hobler,
1978; Fladmark, 1979). Hobler (1978) reports #akes and
#ake cores from intertidal sites in the Queen Charlotte
Islands which are presumed to have been deposited prior
to sea level rise ca. 10,000 BP. The earliest cultural component at the Skoglund's Landing site is ca.
8500}9000 BP (Fladmark, 1979). Fedje et al. (1996) report early Holocene C determinations of ca. 9200 BP
for Arrow Creek 2.
Collectively, these sites demonstrate widespread
occupation by maritime adapted humans in Southeast
Alaska and British Columbia beginning sometime prior
to 10,000 BP. Lithic artifacts include blocky and wedgeshaped microblade cores, microblades, utilized, notched
and waste #akes, #ake cores, rare bifaces, scrapers,
gravers, and choppers. Obsidian was traded widely and
287
the use of watercraft is inferentially demonstrated by the

widespread trade in obsidian, "shing for o!-shore bottom "sh, marine mammal hunting, and the location of
sites on islands and other settings accessible from the sea.
12. Northern Paleoindian tradition (ca. 10,500-8000 BP)

Fluted projectile points and related lanceolate forms
have been found throughout eastern Beringia (Fig. 5).
The #uted projectile points from eastern Beringia have
come from sites which either have not been dated or for
which the dating is ambiguous. Most scholars have assumed a historical relationship between Paleoindian projectile points from eastern Beringia and those from the
southern Plains of western North America based on their
morphological similarity. Fluted projectile points have
been found primarily in the northern areas of Beringia
along the north and south sides of the Brooks Range.
A few examples are also reported from regions in central
interior Alaska.
Numerous sites containing #uted projectile points
from eastern Beringia are part of the larger North American Paleoindian tradition usually associated with the
western United States (Dixon, 1993, pp. 15}23). By including the northern examples within the larger Paleoindian tradition the underlying assumption is made that
the peoples who made and used these tools in eastern
Beringia were part of a larger population of peoples who
shared a similar way of life and economic system. This
assumption is supported by the fact that most of the
northern sites appear to be situated in locales best suited
for big game hunting, a strong economic focus of
Paleoindians to the south.
There are three hypotheses which address the relationships between the northern and southern Paleoindian
assemblages (Clark, 1984a, b): (1) northern Paleoindian
artifacts were left by the "rst humans to reach Alaska and
later moved southward, (2) #uted projectile points developed in the more southern regions of North America
and spread northward into eastern Beringia, or (3) #uted
points were independently invented in eastern Beringia
thousands of years after those to the south. This technology could also have developed rapidly from the Nenana
complex as it spread south (Goebel et al., 1991). While
some Paleoindian sites are known to contain large blades
and blade like #akes, Paleoindian tradition peoples did
not manufacture microblades or use side blade insets.
Comparative analysis using cumulative percentage
curves and cluster analysis demonstrates a close relationship between the Nenana and Clovis complexes suggesting two explanations for the similarities: (1) (following
Haynes, 1987 and others) that humans crossed the Bering
Land Bridge sometime between 12,000 and 13,000 BP
and rapidly moved south `through the Ice-Free Corridora and that both Clovis and the Nenana complexes
288
Fig. 5. Map depicting the location of important archeological sites and site components ascribed to the Northern Paleoindian tradition (reproduced
from Dixon, 1999 with permission of University of New Mexico Press).
were derived from this migration, or (2) that both complexes are technologically derived from an earlier migration which hypothetically took place before the `closing
of the Ice-Free Corridora ca. 22,000}25,000 BP (Goebel
et al., 1991).
It is also possible that the Nenana and Clovis complexes are inland adaptations derived from an earlier
migration along the western coast of the Americas near
the end of the Pleistocene ca. 13,500 BP (Dixon, 1993).
This hypothesis is strengthened by evidence indicating
that Clovis peoples may have used the coast. Several
Clovis or Clovis-like sites have been reported near or
adjacent to the west coast of North America. The Richie
Roberts Clovis cache near Wenatchee, Washington is less
than 150 km from the ocean. Clovis points have been
reported from a coastal site in Mendocino County, California (Simons et al., 1985) and on the coast near Santa
Barbara (Erlandson et al., 1987; Erlandson and Moss,
1996). Because sea level was lower at the time these sites
were occupied their distance from the coast would have
been somewhat greater than it is today.
The Mesa site has 14 radiocarbon determinations

ranging between ca. 11,660 and 9730 BP, derived from 15
hearths at the site (Kunz and Reanier, 1996). Only two
dates (derived from the same `splita charcoal sample)
exceed 11,000 BP. They appear to be statistical outlyers,
possibly resulting from burning fossil wood (Hamilton
and Goebel, in press). All the remaining dates cluster
around 10,000 BP, suggesting this is an accurate date
for the Mesa occupation. The projectile points are
typologically similar to Agate Basin projectile points
from the high plains (Frison and Stanford, 1982). The two
pre-11,000 BP dates and the geographic location of the
site have led some researchers to suggest that Mesa
`culturea may be ancestral to Agate Basin sites from
more southern areas of North America (Kunz et al., 1994,
1995; Kunz and Shelley, 1994; Kunz and Reanier, 1996).
The Putu site has two localities which frequently have
been treated as separate sites, the Putu and Bedwell sites
(Alexander, 1974, 1987; Morlan, 1977; Dumond, 1980;
Clark and Clark, 1983; Clark, 1984a, b, 1991; Kunz and
Reanier, 1994). The lower component at the Putu locality
contains #uted projectile points. A single radiocarbon

date of 11,470$500 was originally believed to date the
#uted points, but reevaluation by Reanier (1995, 1996)
demonstrates that two other dates, 8450$130 and
8810$60, probably more accurately date the lower
component. Reanier (1995, 1996) obtained an AMS
C date on charcoal collected during the original excavation of the Bedwell locality which dated to 10,490$70
(Beta 69895, CAMS-11032). Based on comparison of the
projectile points with similar specimens from the Mesa
site, Reanier suggests this C determination may date
the Bedwell occupation.
Spein Mountain extends the range of the Northern Paleoindian tradition to Southwestern Alaska
(Ackerman, 1996a, b), and is dated to 10,050$90
(BETA-64471, CAMS-8281). The site lacks microblades
or evidence of microblade technology and contains bifacially #aked lanceolate projectile points with constricting bases and other artifact types attributable to the
Northern Paleoindian tradition that are similar to artifacts from the Mesa Site and Bedwell sites (Ackerman,
1996a, b, p. 460).
There are a number of isolated surface "nds typologically characteristic of Northern Paleoindian tradition
projectile points that have been found throughout
Alaska and the Yukon Territory. In addition, Northern
Paleoindian sites have been excavated in central interior
Alaska which date between 10,500 and 8500 BP. These
are Component I at the Carlo Creek site dating to ca.
8500 BP (Bowers, 1980), the Jay Creek Ridge site occupied ca. 9500 BP based on six C AMS determinations
(Dixon, 1993, pp. 85}87), the Eroadaway site (Holmes,
1988), the Eroadaway site dated to 8640$170 BP
(WSU-3683) (Holmes, 1988, p. 3), and Component II at
the Owl Ridge site dated by four C determinations
between 7500 and 9500 BP (Phippen, 1988). Yesner et al.
(1992) report occupations dating ca. 7500 BP from the
Broken Mammoth and Mead sites which also lack evidence of microblade technology but which contain bifacial
stone tools. Although component II dating ca. 8600 and
7000 BP at Panguingue Creek (Powers and Ho!ecker,
1989, p. 276, Powers and Maxwell, 1986) has been ascribed to the American Paleoarctic tradition, this component does not contain microblade technology but does
contain bifacial tools.
A series of four C determinations suggests that Cultural Zone III at the Broken Mammoth site was occupied
ca. 10,300 BP. Zone III contains waste #akes, point fragments, two small `trianguloida basally ground projectile
points, large biface and point fragments, quartz hammer
stones, and a small eyed bone needle (Holmes and Yesner,
1992b; Yesner et al., 1993; Yesner, 1996; Hamilton and
Goebel, in press). At the Swan Point site, cultural component III dated to 10,230$80 BP (Beta-56666, CAMS-4252)
contains strait and convex-based small lanceolate projectile points as well as thin triangular points.
289
Two exceptionally well-preserved bone projectile

points recovered from Pit 1-G, on Goldstream Creek
were reported by Rainey (1939, p. 393). Two AMS
C radiocarbon determinations indicate they were probably manufactured ca. 8500 BP. These specimens were
not slotted to receive microblade insets and they are
probably atlatl dart points (Dixon, 1999).
Sites and site components ascribed to the Northern
Paleoindian tradition all contain projectile points similar
to Paleoindian sites elsewhere in North America. All lack
evidence of a microblade industry. Several sites, including Carlo Creek and Eroadaway, suggest that the Northern Paleoindian tradition persisted for a considerable
length of time in eastern Beringia. Although some of
these sites might represent a continuum from the Nenana
complex in Alaska's interior (Dixon, 1993), it is equally
plausible that they are later regional manifestations of
the Northern Paleoindian tradition, possibly incorporating both Nenana complex and Northern Paleoindian
tradition technological traits.
Because the earliest reliable C determinations for
the Northern Paleoindian tradition are no older than
ca. 10,500 BP, the Paleoindian tradition is younger in
eastern Beringia than in more southern areas of North
America. It appears that Paleoindian projectile point
types derived from the northern Plains may have arrived
in eastern Beringia beginning ca. 10,500 BP, following
partition of the continental ice. This interpretation
is supported by the discovery of a Clovis component
at Charlie Lake Cave in northeastern British Columbia
dated to ca. 10,550 BP (Fladmark et al., 1986; Driver,
1996; Driver et al., 1996), and at Vermilion Lake in
Ban! National Park in Alberta, Canada (Fedje et al.,
1995). At Vermilion Lake, Fedje et al. (1995) have
documented an assemblage ascribed to the `Late Fluted
Point traditiona possibly dating as early as 10,800 BP
based on C determinations from other typologically
similar sites.
Northern Paleoindian projectile points do not exhibit
the full typological array of Paleoindian projectile
points from the more southern regions of North America.
While most of the early #uted types exhibit multiple
#utes, concave bases and edge grinding, among the
northern assemblages large Clovis points are rare and
classic Folsom points have not been found. Later
lanceolate forms resemble tapering stemmed forms
similar to Agate Basin and Hell Gap points. These
di!erences led some archeologists (Wormington, 1968;
Dixon, 1976) to propose the south to north spread
of Paleoindian technology based on the fact that the
northern examples looked typologically later than the
those found on the western plains. Dixon (1976) suggested the south to north spread of this technology may
have occurred ca. 10,000 BP, but more contemporary
data suggest it may have been earlier, probably ca.
10,500 BP.
290
13. Archeological summary

The earliest archeology of eastern Beringia is ascribed
to the Nenana complex, characterized by triangular bifacial projectile points and ovate knives. Widespread
trade in obsidian was already established indicating occupation of Alaska prior to that time. The occurrence of
`scavenged fossil ivorya at several sites implies that mammoth or mastodon remains were being scavenged by ca.
11,600 BP. No mammoth or mastodon kill sites have
been found in eastern Beringia, although controversial
blood residue analysis of #uted projectile points suggests
that mammoth may have persisted until ca. 10,500 BP in
some areas of eastern Beringia (Dixon, 1993; Loy and
Dixon, 1998).
The Nenana complex begins sometime prior to
11,600 BP and persists until ca. 10,500 at which time it
becomes di$cult to distinguish from the Northern
Paleoindian tradition in interior Alaska. This suggests
a possible `blendinga of technological traits of the
Nenana complex and Northern Paleoindian tradition.
Although not entirely conclusive, it appears that the
Nenana complex did not manufacture microblades. The
Northern Paleoindian tradition existed in regions of eastern Beringia as a co-tradition with the American
Paleoarctic tradition between ca. 10,500}8000 BP. This
tradition spread northward into eastern Beringia from
the northern Plains.
Distinctive microblade technologies were introduced
into eastern Beringia sometime around 10,500 BP and
are contemporaneous with the Northern Paleoindian
tradition. The Denali complex represents an inland adaptation by microblade using peoples. The American
Paleoarctic and Northwest Coast Microblade traditions
are found in near coastal areas suggesting subsistence
activities related to coastal and adjacent inland resources. Trade in obsidian, site locations, and faunal
remains inferentially demonstrate the use of watercraft
prior to 10,000 BP along the Northwest Coast.
This analysis does not support the traditional Bering
Land Bridge theory of human migration to the Americas,
which postulates that hunters of large terrestrial mammal
using Clovis-like projectile points crossed the Bering
Land Bridge and descended from Beringia to the Plains
of North America ca. 11,500 BP. Archeological research
demonstrates that pre-Clovis sites exist at Monte Verde,
in eastern Beringia, and probably at other sites throughout the Americas. The northern movement of the
Paleoindian tradition ca. 10,500 BP demonstrates that
humans were south of the continental glaciers prior to
deglaciation ca. 11,000 BP and that the Clovis complex is
an independent New World cultural development. Technological similarities between the contemporaneous
Nenana and Clovis complexes may result from the fact
that both are derived from a common cultural predecessor.
Fig. 6. The process of producing a composite projectile point with

microblade insets. (a) microblade removal from a microblade core (view
from core platform), (b) microblade, proximal, medial and distal segments, (c) medial fragment inset into an organic projectile point (modi"ed from Dixon, 1999, reproduced with permission of University of
New Mexico Press).
14. Weapon systems

The width of the projectile point at the place where it is
hafted helps to de"ne the size of the shaft to which it was
attached. This along with the size and weight of Nenana,
Clovis, and later Paleoindian projectile points suggests
that they were attached to atlatl darts and not used to tip
arrows. These projectile points are conceptually very
di!erent than composite projectile points manufactured
by setting microblades in organic points. The American
Paleoarctic tradition used thin parallel sided stone
microblades struck from specially prepared stone cores
to create cutting edges. The microblades were inset along
longitudinal grooves incised in bone, antler, or ivory
projectile points to form razor-sharp cutting edges along
the margins of projectile points manufactured from organic materials (Fig. 6).
The bifacial stone and composite projectile point manufacturing techniques are fundamentally di!erent approaches to producing the same type of artifact, the
projectile point (Dixon, 1993). These two contrasting conceptual approaches to the manufacture of weapon systems
suggest that other profound di!erences in technological
and social concepts existed between these peoples.
The manufacture of microblades and composite projectile points are geographically restricted to Eurasia,
Alaska and northwest Canada. The vast region of interior Alaska and adjacent Canada was a transitional
area between more Eurasian oriented microblade traditions and non-microblade bifacial traditions of North
America. The boundaries between these technological
traditions shifted repeatedly over time and consequently
some archeological sites provide a sequence of nonmicroblade/microblade technologies when viewed at
a single geographic locale.
15. Colonization events

From a technological perspective, there appear to be
two major colonizing events in the Americas. The "rst
was an early migration by the ancestors of the
Clovis/Nenana complexes sometime before ca. 11,500 BP
and possibly as early as ca. 13,500 BP. These people use
atlatl darts tipped with bifacially #aked stone end blades
lashed to harpoon-like heads seated on bone foreshafts.
They did not manufacture microblades and did not use
the bow and arrow. The atlatl remained the primary
weapon system in South America and temperate and
southern regions of North America until Archaic times.
The second colonization event was by peoples bearing
the American Paleoarctic tradition ca. 10,500 BP. Although they probably used the atlatl, they also introduced the bow and arrow. This included the complex
technique of manufacturing composite projectile points
which were characterized by insetting razor sharp stone
microblades along the sides of bone and antler projectile
points.
Although both populations required e!ective projectile points essential in hunter/gather societies, each developed unique approaches to manufacturing them.
Nenana/Clovis peoples relied primarily on reducing
a lithic core by #aking away excess rock to create a #aked
stone projectile point, or biface. American Paleoarctic
peoples engaged in a complex technological sequence of
`buildinga projectile points by inserting microblades in
slots carved along the sides of cylindrical bone or antler
projectile points. These conceptually complex and di!erent approaches successfully solved the same problem,
suggesting that the di!erences result from learned behavior passed from generation to generation. Other
profound di!erences may have existed between these two
groups, possibly including biological and linguistic traits,
as well as technological and social concepts.
The limited physical anthropological data also imply
two distinct human groups emigrated to the Americas.
Steele and Powell (1992) have concluded that the human
cranial and facial characteristics from the Americas that
are over 8500 BP are distinctively di!erent than later
Native Americans. Distinguishing features identi"ed by
physical anthropologists for these very early New World
peoples are: longer, more narrow faces; and smaller more
narrow nasal apertures (Steele and Powell, 1992; Chatters, 1997; Jantz and Owsley, 1997). These early remains
291
from the Americas tend to display craniofacial features

which are more similar to southern Asian and European
populations.
They were followed by a second population bearing
greater resemblance to contemporary northern Asians
and Native Americans. Although rapid evolutionary
change could explain the di!erences between the earlier
(older than ca. 8000 BP) and later Native American
populations, they more likely represent two distinct
populations. The older group has been described as being
more `Caucasoida in appearance and they resemble the
Ainu of northern Japan. If these comparisons are accurate, then both early technological evidence and physical
anthropological data might suggest a possible point of
origin for the earliest Americans in the maritime regions
of northeast Asia.
16. Coastal migration

Prior to the early 1970s, it had been assumed that the
Cordilleran ice extended westward to the margins of the
continental shelf thus creating a barrier to human migration (Coulter et al., 1965; Nasmith, 1970; Prest, 1969).
More recent geologic and paleoecologic studies document deglaciation and the existence of ice-free areas
throughout major coastal areas of British Columbia by
ca. 13,000 BP (Blaise et al., 1990; Bobrowsky et al., 1990).
It is now clear that areas of continental shelf and o!shore islands were not covered by ice during and toward
the end of the last glacial. Vast areas along the coast may
have been deglaciated beginning about 16,000 BP. Except for a 400-km coastal area between southwest British
Columbia and Washington State, the Northwest Coast
of North America was largely free of ice by ca. 16,000
years ago (Mann and Peteet, 1995). The exposed continental shelf and o!-shore islands were available as a migration route between 13,500 and 9500 BP (Josenhans et
al., 1995, 1997), possibly enabling people to colonize
ice-free regions along the continental shelf exposed by
lower sea level.
Because of the misleading early geologic interpretations, the region has not been subject to research equivalent to that which has occurred in non-coastal eastern
Beringia, but signi"cant advances are now being made.
The remains of large omnivores, such as black and brown
bears, and other land animals, including caribou, have
been found in Southeast Alaska dating between 12,500
and 10,000 BP (Heaton, 1995, 1996; Heaton and Grady,
1993; Heaton et al., 1996) demonstrating that su$cient
subsistence resources were available to support humans
(Dixon, 1995). The Northwest Coast Microblade
tradition is documented as early as 10,000 BP in British
Columbia and Southeast Alaska. Archeological sites
ascribed to this tradition share the use of microblades,
and exhibit a marine economy documented by limited
292
Fig. 7. Map depicting the hypothetical coastal migration hypothesis (reproduced from Dixon, 1999 with permission of University of New Mexico
Press).
faunal remains and isotopic analysis of human remains

(Dixon et al., 1997), and the ecological setting of the sites
(Fig. 7).
17. The model

The model for human colonization of the Americas
suggested by the most current data are coastal migration
with inland movement and settlement within broad environmental zones, or megapatches that extend from
north to south throughout the Americas. Migration
probably occurred in many directions at the same time.
For example, some people may have been moving more
rapidly southward along the Paci"c Coast of the Americas while others were colonizing more slowly eastward
from the coast to the interior of the continents.
This model is drastically di!erent than the traditional
Beringian crossing and subsequent unidirectional `migrationa from north to south, cross-cutting environmental zones and a wide array of physical obstacles.
Colonization along large environmental zones is more
consistent with New World archeological data and enables seemingly con#icting evidence to be reconciled into
a single rational model for colonization of the Americas.
Fig. 8 schematically portrays how colonization may have

occurred along major environmental zones at arbitrary
500 year intervals beginning at ca. 13,000 BP. Extreme
northeast North America and Greenland were not su$ciently deglaciated to permit colonization until about
5000 BP.
This alternative model proposes that initial human
colonization of the Americas may have begun ca.
14,000}13,500 BP along the southern margin of the Bering Land Bridge and then southward along the Paci"c
Coast of the Americas. With the use of watercraft, the
human population moved rapidly southward along the
coastal}intertidal Paci"c biome, or `megapatcha. Even
though evidence of this early migration may be obscured
by rising sea level at the end of the last ice age, evidence
might be expected to be found in adjacent areas of the
interior, such as Monte Verde. Although it would have
been somewhat further from the sea at the time it was
occupied than it is today, Monte Verde is located along
a river drainage only 15 km northeast of the Paci"c
Ocean. If this model is correct, the Paci"c Coast of the
Americas could have been occupied thousands of years
before the continental ice in North America melted.
Coastal environments provide many ecological advantages for generalized foragers, an economic adaptation
293
Fig. 8. Schematic illustration of how New World colonization may have occurred along major environmental zones at arbitrary 500 year intervals.
Extreme northeast North America and Greenland were not su$ciently deglaciated to permit colonization until ca. 5000 BP (reproduced from Dixon,
1999 with permission of University of New Mexico Press).
best suited for colonizing populations. For example, intertidal resources, such as shell"sh, may be harvested by
children and the elderly and simply eaten raw. On the
other hand, hunters specializing in large terrestrial mammal hunting are more dependent on a few strong adults
to bring down large mammals. Large mammal hunting
also requires greater territorial movement and presents
greater di$culty for human groups which realistically
include the elderly, the very young, pregnant women, and
the in"rm. Current data from the some of earliest sites in
the Americas including the Aubery (Ferring, 1989, 1990,
1995), Horn Shelter in Texas (Forrester, 1985; Redder,
1985; Young, 1985; Young et al., 1987), a Clovis age
rockshelter near the California}Oregon border (Beaton,
1991b), Lewisville (Stanford, pers. comm.), and numerous
other sites, indicate subsistence traditions based on
foraging rather than specialized large mammal hunting.
Local abundance of marine and intertidal resources and
predictable runs of anadromous "sh concentrated human populations in speci"c locales such as sheltered
bays, inlets, estuaries, and salmon spawning streams.
Temperate coastal technological adaptations rely
heavily on readily available materials such as drift wood,
marine mammal products, beach cobbles, and shell,
which in many cases may have been already partially
modi"ed by noncultural processes. In such an environment, reliance on sophisticated lithic technologies was
probably not as important as in other environments. For
example, preshaped and prepolished sling and bola
stones, the only lithic material required for two e!ective,
deadly weapons, can be easily and e$ciently collected
from noncultural beach deposits. Monte Verde provides
a rare glimpse into this type of technological adaptation.
At Monte Verde people produced and used few bifacially
#aked stone tools and relied heavily on simple #akes and
organic materials.
294
From an original and theoretical maritime subsistence

strategy, several adaptive trajectories were possible as
humans expanded across the landscape. Survival may
have been best assured by the continuation of a pattern
of general foraging, which could be adjusted or modi"ed
based on availability of resources and increasing knowledge of local geography and biological patterns. For
example, along the west coast people may have continued their ancient adaptation to shell"sh gathering,
"shing, and marine mammal hunting. In interior regions
of southern California, Arizona and Mexico the pattern
of general foraging may have led to an increasing emphasis on harvesting and processing plant products and seed
grinding. On the Plains general foraging persisted
throughout the Paleoindian period, but people emphasized and re"ned large mammal hunting, particularly
communal mass kills.
Although the initial colonization along the continental
margins of the Americas may have occurred rather
quickly, subsequent colonization of interior environments probably occurred more slowly. People probably
"rst moved inland from the coast along rivers. As population increased and people adapted to interior environments, colonization probably continued to progress
along environmental zones.
Given this scenario, the western plains of North America may have been among the last to be settled as well as
one of the least hospitable environmental regions of the
continent. Separated from the Paci"c coast by the vast
Cordillera, adaptation to intervening mountainous regions may have occurred slowly. Classic Clovis sites,
such as Blackwater Draw and Murray Springs, containing evidence of spectacular mammoth predation, may be
representative of a rather unique cultural, technological
and ecological adaptation during late Pleistocene. In
other words, the spectacular and well publicized Clovis
kill sites may be the least typical and the least useful sites
for interpreting the peopling of the Americas and early
New World adaptations.
Although Clovis is often associated with mammoth
hunting, other data demonstrate that Clovis people may
have placed greater emphasis on generalized gathering.
Only 12 sites have been documented in North America
where Clovis points have been found in association with
mammoth remains (Haynes, 1991, pp. 197}197, 206).
A more realistic portrayal of Clovis economics
suggests that mammoth kill sites occur in marginal
habitats that may have been some of the last to be
colonized. Although these sites may provide the earliest
evidence of human occupation in the western interior
of North America, this region may have been among
the last to be colonized.
Analysis of Paleoindian dentition (Powell and Steel,
1994) supports the hypothesis that Clovis and other early
New World cultures have their adaptive roots as generalized foragers rather than specialized big game hunters.
Fig. 9. Line drawing comparing the (a) detachable Clovis end blade,
dart head, and foreshaft atlatl dart assembly (Stanford, 1996) and the (b)
detachable marine mammal hunting end blade, harpoon head and
foreshaft assembly used in marine mammal hunting (reproduced from
Dixon, 1999 with the permission of University of New Mexico Press).
The characteristics of dental wear in the oldest human

remains from the Americas are virtually identical to
those of generalized foragers. This demonstrates that
these early diets included a broad array of foods and
large amounts of plant "ber.
18. Technology
The lithic technology found at Monte Verde is characterized by the selection and use of naturally occurring
stone and minimal modi"cation of stones and other
useful items found in the natural environment. This
type of technological system probably originates from a
generalized coastal economy which might have only
occasional and comparatively rare need for bifacial projectile points to serve as harpoon end blades or possibly
knives.
An intriguing connection between coastal migrations
and mammoth hunting may lay in understanding the
Clovis weapon system. It is characterized by the atlatl, or
spear thrower, used to propel a short light weight spear,
or dart. The dart is tipped with bifacially #aked stone
Clovis projectile point believed to be mounted in a splitshaft harpoon-like haft, that is attached to a bone
foreshaft (Stanford, 1996). The end blade, harpoon, and
foreshaft assembly used for marine mammal hunting is

essentially the same as the Paleoindian foreshaft,
dart head and Clovis projectile point assembly suggested
by Stanford (1997) (Fig. 9). This suggests that the
Clovis weapon system may have its origins in coastal
marine mammal hunting technology that was subsequently adapted to hunting large terrestrial mammals.
The diagnostic trait of basal thinning and #uting early
Paleoindian projectile points may be derived from thinning the base of stone projectile points to make them "t
easily into slotted harpoon heads designed for marine
mammal hunting. This type of end blade assembly persisted until historic times among maritime hunters in northwestern North America and northeast Asia.
19. Conclusions
The initial colonization of the Americas used watercraft and occurred about 13,500 BP. This hypothesis is
supported by the following:
(1) The earliest deglaciated route was coastal. The deglaciated west coast of North America was "rst
available for colonization by ca. 13,500. The interior
route was blocked by the continental glaciers until
about 11,000 when a deglaciation corridor developed between Beringia and the southern areas of
North America ca. 11,000 BP.
(2) Monte Verde, and other sites, predate the opening of
the mid-continental route indicating peoples were
south of the continental glaciers prior to deglaciation
ca. 11,000 BP.
(3) Reliably dated human remains "rst appear in North
American between 11,000 and 11,500 BP, providing
limiting minimum dates for human occupation and
suggesting human colonization occurred earlier.
(4) By about 11,000}12,000 BP regional cultural adaptation was well under way in North America,
suggesting an earlier migration.
(5) The Paleoindian tradition spread from south to
north ca. 10,500 BP, indicating that people were
south of the continental ice prior to deglaciation, ca.
11,000 BP.
(6) Paleoindian subsistence data indicate an economic
system rooted in general foraging, not specialized big
game hunting.
(7) The New World's "rst weapon system, the foreshaft/harpoon/end-blade atlatl dart assembly, may
trace its origins to coastal marine mammal hunting,
rather than large terrestrial mammal hunting.
(8) Evidence from other regions of the world demonstrate that humans had watercraft and the ability to
navigate near-shore ocean waters prior to 14,000 BP.
(9) Technological and physical anthropological evidence suggests at least two major colonizing events,
295
the "rst beginning possibly by ca. 13,500 BP using

the atlatl and the second about 10,500 BP introducing the bow and arrow. However, the relationships,
if any, between the two human physical types and
the two major technological traditions are not
clear.
Although it is imperative that New World archeologists keep their minds open to earlier human colonization of the Americas, the very limited data from the
lower level at Monte Verde and controversial discoveries
at other sites suggesting human occupation as early as
30,000}35,000 BP, are not adequate to demonstrate an
earlier colonization event. A stronger suite of evidence
will be required to convince most scientists, and most
will be reluctant to accept a third and much earlier
(ca. 30,000 BP) human migration to the Americas without additional evidence.
The coastal `corridora provided the environmental
avenue essential for the initial human entry to the Americas. The coast formed part of a continuous northern
marine}intertidal ecosystem extending between northeast Asia and northwestern North America. It would
have facilitated coastal navigation and provided similar
subsistence resources in a continuous ecological zone
linking the two hemispheres. Old world adaptations
could have enabled rapid colonization without developing new technologies or subsistence strategies.
The intellectual dominance of the interior Beringian
model for the colonization of the Americas by Eurasian
large land mammal hunters has resulted in little archeological research directed toward New World colonization along the coastal regions of northeast Asia and
the western coasts of the Americas. The concept of
humans "rst entering the Americas via a Bering Land
Bridge is almost 500 years old and was advanced and
strengthened when science lacked the archeological
and geologic evidence available today (de Acosta, 1604;
Dawson, 1894; Johnston, 1933; Spinden, 1933 and
others). Viewed in light of the coastal colonization
hypothesis, the Bering Land Bridge played an important,
but di!erent, role in the peopling of the Americas.
The Bering Land Bridge was essential for human colonization because it provided an uninterrupted marine}
intertidal environment that facilitated inter-coastal
navigation connecting Eurasia and North America along
its southern margin.
Archeological evidence necessary to evaluate the
coastal migration hypothesis is di$cult to "nd because
rising sea level at the close of the Pleistocene inundated
much of the continental shelf. If the coastal migration
hypothesis is to be fully evaluated, the late Pleistocene
coastal archeology of western North America requires
research equivalent to that which has traditionally focused on the late Pleistocene/early Holocene archeology
of mid-continental North America.
296
Acknowledgements
The Denver Museum of Natural History supported
the preparation of this manuscript and the University of
New Mexico Press gave permission to use the "gures.
Special thanks to David M. Hopkins who was a catalyst
for this paper and a mentor to so many of us who were
able to participate in the 1997 Beringian Symposium.
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DIXON, J. Human Colonization of The Americas - Timing, Technology and Process. 2001

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Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

Human colonization of the Americas: timing, technology and process

* Tel.: 001-303-370-8261; fax: 001-303-331-6492.

2. Beringia and the ice-free corridor

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

Fig. 1. Map depicting the traditional Beringian-midcontinental human

steppe into Beringia and southward through what is now

3. Oldest archeological sites in the Americas

vides a minimum limiting date for human colonization.

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

processes have been identi"ed to suggest this suite of

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

5. Biological and linguistic evidence

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

archeology. Tracing the migration of speci"c groups of

on the work of Birdsell (1957), who derived his statistics

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

7. Early archeology of eastern Beringia

derived from Asia and has its technological roots in the

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

and made di!erent types of tools during the same period

8. Nenana complex (ca. '11,600}10,500 BP)

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

the oldest reliably dated site in Alaska. A series of

The relationship between the Nenana complex and

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

Fig. 4. Map depicting the location of important archeological sites and

9. American Paleoarctic tradition (ca. 10,500}7000 BP)

microblade cores, microblades, blades and blade cores,

10. The Denali complex (10,500}8000 BP)

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

microblades, burins, burin spalls, worked #akes, and

11. The Northwest Coast Microblade Tradition

names, including the Early Coast Microblade complex

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

C determinations. In the Queen Charlotte Islands to

the use of watercraft is inferentially demonstrated by the

12. Northern Paleoindian tradition (ca. 10,500-8000 BP)

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

The Mesa site has 14 radiocarbon determinations

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

contains #uted projectile points. A single radiocarbon

Two exceptionally well-preserved bone projectile

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

13. Archeological summary

Fig. 6. The process of producing a composite projectile point with

14. Weapon systems

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

15. Colonization events

from the Americas tend to display craniofacial features

16. Coastal migration

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

faunal remains and isotopic analysis of human remains

17. The model

Fig. 8 schematically portrays how colonization may have

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

From an original and theoretical maritime subsistence

The characteristics of dental wear in the oldest human

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

foreshaft assembly used for marine mammal hunting is

the "rst beginning possibly by ca. 13,500 BP using

E.J. Dixon / Quaternary Science Reviews 20 (2001) 277}299

C determinations. In the Queen Charlotte Islands to