First Peoples in a New World

"Sometime before 15,000 years ago, a band of hunter-gatherers arrived in Northeast Asia. They continued east, becoming the first people to set foot in the Americas. They soon found themselves in a world rich in plants and animals that became more exotic as they moved south, but also a world still shivering itself out of the coldest depth of the Ice Age. The movement of those first Americans was one of the greatest journeys undertaken by ancient peoples in the distant past. In this book, David Meltzer explores the world of Ice Age Americans, highlighting genetic, archaeological, and geological evidence that has revolutionized our understanding of their origins, antiquity, and adaptation to climate and environmental change. In this heavily revised edition, the author integrates the most recent scientific discoveries, including the ancient genome revolution and human evolutionary and population history, into his account of Ice Age America. Aimed at and written for a broad audience, the book can serve as the primary text in courses on North American archaeology, Ice Age environments, and human evolution and prehistory. David Meltzer is the Henderson-Morrison Professor of Prehistory, and the Executive Director of the Quest Archaeological Research Program at Southern Methodist University. He has conducted archaeological research throughout North America, and is the author of ten books and some 200 scientific articles. He is a fellow of the United States National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences"--