Humans May Have Been Stuck on Bering Strait for 10,000 Years

Humans May Have Been Stuck on Bering Strait for 10,000 Years
Feb 27, 2014 03:00 PM ET // by Tia Ghose, LiveScience

The ancestors of Native Americans may have lived on and around the Bering Strait for about 10,000 years before streaming into the Americas, researchers argue.

In the new Perspectives article, published today (Feb. 27) in the journal Science, the researchers compile existing data to support the idea, known as the Beringia standstill hypothesis.

Among that evidence is genetic data showing that founding populations of Native Americans diverged from their Asian ancestors more than 25,000 years ago. In addition, land in the region of the Bering Strait teemed with grasses to support big game (for food) and woody shrubs to burn in the cold climate, supporting a hard-scrabble existence for ancient people. [In Images: Ancient Beasts of the Arctic]

Given the hypothesis, archaeologists should look in regions of Alaska and the Russian Far East for traces of these ancient people's settlements, the authors argue.

More:
http://news.discovery.com/human/evolution/humans-may-have-been-stuck-on-bering-strait-for-1000-years-140227.htm#mkcpgn=rssnws1