Anyone have any updates to When Did Humans Get to the Americas?

Hello!  Is there anything I'm missing about this resource?

There is nothing in the Origins 2.2 teaching guide about it, so I am just wondering what the approach should be.  For example, is there truly no best answer?  Is there some guidance for how teachers can comment on the reliability to facilitate discussion afterwards?

Kathy Hays 

Hi Angela Flakker and thanks for your question! There really isn't one definitive answer to the question of when humans arrived in the Americas, but the latest research from multiple studies suggests that early humans came in waves. The earliest contact probably came from Northern Europe but those early contacts did not settle in the Americas. The earliest approximate we have for those who arrived via the Pacific is about 30,000 years ago; some traveled along the kelp highway, others may have island hopped across the Pacific, and then after the last ice age, larger populations arrived along the Bering land bridge. I can add that info to the teacher lesson guide to provide a little guidance, but the main idea of this activity is for students to decide which of the theories, or which combination of theories, is the most plausible answer to the question using their claim testers to support their response. Hope this helps!

Great, thanks Bridgette! That does help

Great, thanks Bridgette! That does help