Clovis First Theory Essay

There are so many theories out there as to how the Americas were first settled, but the Clovis First theory seems to be the most plausible. The Bering Strait and Bering Land Bridge, Beringia, play a major part in the Clovis First theory. Although most of present-day Canada and United States was covered in sheets of ice at the time of the Clovis people’s migration, Beringia was an “ice-free corridor,” which made it possible for them to travel through North America (The First Settlers Arrive in South America). The Clovis First theory was first developed because a numerous amount of distinctive spear points were discovered in Clovis, New Mexico in 1929.

The Clovis people are believed to have been hunter-gatherers. The Clovis people and the Clovis

culture got their name from the first site of archaeological finds for the first arrivals to North America, which was in Clovis, New Mexico (Bering Strait Migration Begins). The Clovis culture was considered the first Paleo-Indian culture in North America and the Clovis were believed to be the first real human inhabitants of North America (The First Settlers Arrive in South America). According to evidence from various sites, the Clovis culture extended from Canada to Mexico. They have found more than 10,000 Clovis points scattered around 1,500 archaeological dig sites throughout North America (101 Objects). Clovis points were very distinct fluted points that were chipped from brittle stone, such as, jasper, chert, obsidian, and many others, they had sharp edges and were lance-shaped, came to a point (The Clovis Point and the Discovery of America’s First Culture). As Charles C. Mann says in 101 Objects, the Clovis point is considered the Leatherman of the Clovis people, it was a pretty universal tool.
The Clovis First theory was developed in the early parts of the history of radiocarbon dating (The Peopling of the Americas: Year in Review 1988).

The theory states that a small group of hunter-gatherers, known as the Clovis people, migrated from Siberia to Alaska by crossing Beringia during the Great Ice Age. At the time of the Clovis people Beringia would have been about 600 miles wide and 55 miles long because of the Ice Age (The First Settlers Arrive in South America). The Clovis culture was short-lived. It began between 13,300 and 13, 500 years ago and ended about 800 years later because of extreme climate change (Bering Strait Migration Begins). Based on the discovery of It is believed that the Clovis people migrated to the Americas about 13, 000 years ago. Scientists added on to the Clovis First theory, in the late 1800s, saying that they believed that the hunter-gatherers had crossed the bridge because they were following big game. According to the theory, even though they got their name from the site in New Mexico, where the first Clovis points were found, the Clovis people actually settled a vast majority of the North America. Sites with Clovis points have been discovered as far north as Canada and Alaska and as far south as Mexico. They have also been found spread across the country from the west coast, in California, to the east coast, in

Maine.
Although other people that have migrated to the Americas and settled them have domesticated plants and even animals, the Clovis people were not one of those groups. They were hunter-gatherers. Even though scientists believe that the Clovis people ended up in the Americas because they were following big game, they actually predominantly hunted smaller game such as deer and other local small game instead of larger game such as bison and mammoths. Being hunter-gatherers also means that they didn’t really farm or domesticate animals. They ate whatever plants, berries, and roots were local and available where they were living (The First Settlers Arrive in South America).
The Clovis First theory, although it may seem to be the most plausible, archaeologists and anthropologists have started to find new evidence that makes it seem slightly less plausible than it did about 10 years ago. The Clovis First theory seems the most likely because the “path” the Clovis people used for migration into the Americas would have been a lot easier to travel than the alternative migration theories. The Clovis people were considered to be the first real human inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere, but they didn’t domesticate plants or animals because they were hunter-gatherers and they never really settled in one place for an extended period of time.