Alike myriad early cultures, writing was not invented during the time, which the First Americans arrived and settled in the Americas. Therefore, extensive research must be completed to uncover the deep and hidden truth that lie inside many excavations within North and South America.
As most researchers have claimed, in the past decades, that the Bering Land Bridge was the only route for the First Americans to have arrived in the Americas. However it wasn’t possible, facts show that the Bering Land Bridge wasn’t available for use until approximately 11500 BCE. Artifacts for various locations (which we will discuss later) show that the First Americans have existed in the Americas since 16000 to 18000 BCE, much to early for the Bering Land Bridge theory. Therefore researchers worked hard in order for theoretically locating other routes.
After many years, researchers have came up with several new theories in addition to the Bering Land Bridge theory. They were the Pacific Crossing Theory, Pacific Coastal Theory, and lastly the Atlantic Crossing Theory.
After thoughtful research, artifacts and evidence shows that the Atlantic Crossing Theory is most probable out of the three new theories described above.
It is predicted that the First Americans traveled in small boats transatlantic across the ocean and landed near present-day Cactus Hill, Pennsylvania and Meadowcroft Rock Shelter in Virginia. This is confirmed because
archeologists have discovered artifacts at Meadowcroft Rock Shelter in Virginia that belonged to the ancestors of the Clovis. After extensive carbon dating, the artifacts were proven to be 18,000 to 20,000 years old.
The First Americans were believed to be ancestors of the Clovis people who lived in present-day Clovis, New Mexico around 11000 BCE. Near Clovis, in 1921 CE, a teenager, Ridgely Whiteman found a Clovis spearhead.
Around 75 years later, an identical spearhead was found at present-day Cactus Hill, Pennsylvania below layers of sand. This spearhead was carbon-dated and proven to be around 18,000 years old. Over the years, the ancestors to the Clovis probably migrated westward to present-day Clovis, New Mexico, where the first Clovis spearhead was found. At first, we thought the Clovis came here using the Bering Land Bridge, now we know that the Clovis did not use the land bridge to colonize the Americas.
