HUMANS IN NORTH AMERICA
Scientists have long debated the way that humans first colonized the Americas. It is widely believed that humans crossed the Pacific Ocean from Asia.
Scientists support this theory with anthropological evidence. To find similarities between the two cultures, scientists have studied teeth. Because teeth remain for a very long time, they provide accurate records of the past. Researchers have found that the structure of Native Americans’ teeth is more similar to those of Asians than any other culture in the world. One study of over 15,000 cranial remains found that the teeth of Native Americans and Asians fell into a group of similar tooth patterns called sinodonty.
In addition, scientists have found archaeological evidence to support the theory. This evidence comes in the form of human remains found in a cave in Southeast Alaska. After researchers analyzed the remains, they found that he mainly survived on a diet of marine life such as fish. Fish, however, was not a diet that would have been readily available in that location. During that period of history, many coastal Asian cultures had diets of mainly marine life. Thus, the man only would have had access to fish if he had come from Asia.