As Europeans began their conquest and settlement of North America from the 16th to the 18th century, they formulated various ideas about the origins of the resident Indian populations. A number of antiquarians suggested that multiple migrations must have taken place from the Old World within the then-accepted time restriction of biblical chronology (which dated the creation of the world at 4004 BC). Most early proposals about the route and time span of population movements into the New World were later proved inaccurate. Today the only view accepted by scholars is that humans first entered the New World from Asia by way of the \TBering Land Bridge\t, a landmass that existed during the Ice Age linking Siberia and Alaska in the area of what is now the Bering Strait. The only adequately documented evidence of a European presence in North America before the arrival of Columbus is that of the \TVikings\t. These far-ranging seafarers are known to have reached Newfoundland in about AD 1000 (see L'ANSE AUX \Lmeadow\ls), but they made no significant impact in the New World. In recent years a number of claims have been made regarding other European or Asiatic explorations of North America in pre-Columbian times, but none has been adequately substantiated through archaeological evidence. Earliest Americans All of the prehistoric human skeletal material found in North America belongs to the modern human species, Homo sapiens sapiens. Anatomically, the skeletal finds relate most closely to Mongoloid population groups of northeastern Asia. The earliest inhabitants of North America are thought to have arrived on the continent more than 20,000 years ago, although archaeologists disagree as to precisely when the original crossing from Asia may have occurred. Some consider a date of about 30,000 years ago likely, whereas others have speculated that the migrations southward through North America may have already begun by 40,000 years ago. Paleo-Indian Culture Although a small number of archaeological sites provide evidence of occupation dating from more than 12,000 years ago--notably \TMeadowcroft Rockshelter\t in Pennsylvania, Fort Rock Cave in Oregon, and Wilson Butte Cave in Idaho--such sites have not yielded adequate evidence to identify a full cultural complex, and the actual age of the sites is still under debate. The earliest widespread complex is that of the hunting and gathering societies called Paleo-Indian. Remains of their stone and bone tool technology were first recognized during the 1920s and 1930s in the high plains of the Southwest, at sites near Folsom and Clovis in east central New Mexico. Their distinctive grooved, or fluted, projectile points (see \TClovis culture\t; \TFolsom\t \Tculture\t) have since been found in the contiguous 48 states, southern Canada, Alaska, and northern Mexico. In western sites this complex has been found in association with extinct fauna such as mammoths, mastodons, horses, and camelids, but at Eastern Woodlands sites--including Shoop in Pennsylvania, Williamson and Flint Run in Virginia, Kings Road in New York, Debert in Nova Scotia, and Parkhill in Ontario--such associations are not known. Paleo-Indian groups lived in small bands of probably 30 to 40 individuals or as family units. Their lithic technology included projectile points on spears or dart shafts, knives, scrapers, drills, gravers, hammerstones, abraders, and some bone awls and beads. They occupied almost all of central North America beginning about 12,000 to 10,000 years ago, during a period when vegetation and animal life were adjusting to the climatic changes at the end of the Ice Age. The following 7,000 years was a period of adaptation by native American populations to the diverse North American environments. It was marked by the development of new tools, clothing, and shelter and intensive exploration for sources of raw materials and for plant and animal foods. During the long Archaic period major regional adaptations occurred in the Eastern Woodlands, the Plains, the Desert West, and also in California, the Northwest Plateau, and the Arctic. Eastern Archaic In the East, bands of hunter-gatherers moved north as far as Newfoundland and Labrador by 6000 BC, into Quebec, Ontario, and the prairie provinces, and on to the Canadian Shield as the vegetation and animal life moved north. The population gradually increased, and basic adaptations took place in the varied environments from coastal to mountainous areas. Particularly favored were river valleys and lake areas, where aquatic foods could supplement those from the woods and prairies. Many species of animals, birds, fish, and mollusks were added to the diet, as were gathered plant foods such as nuts, seeds, berries, and tubers. Through time many changing varieties of projectile points, knives, drills, scrapers, milling stones, and other lithic tools were developed. Some of these, particularly projectile point styles, spread widely and are today used by archaeologists to indicate approximate contemporaneity of Archaic peoples. Ground-stone grooved axes and ground and chipped adzes were produced as woodworking tools from about 7000 to 5000 BC onward. Ornamental ground-stone gorgets and stone, bone, and shell beads were worn. The earliest known remains of houses are associated with the Archaic. Preserved clay impressions of mats and fabrics testify to a widespread production of these perishable items. Clothing was made from animal skins and from vegetable materials. In most Archaic burials the corpse is found in a flexed position, although cremation was also practiced. Trade and exchange patterns existed across large stretches of the Eastern Woodlands, with items made from marine shells during the Late Archaic appearing as far north and west as Minnesota and Lower Canada. Implements and ornaments made of native copper from the Lake Superior area are found from North Dakota to New England and from Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico. Evidence of tropical gourds and squash dating from the 3d millennium BC is found in Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee; these are the first indications of agricultural activities, introduced from northeastern \TMesoamerica\t. The Plains Archaic was characterized by a primary emphasis on the hunting of bison, beaver, antelope, elk, deer, and smaller animals and by a continuation of the way of life established by the fluted-point hunters. Sites are found in rockshelters and along streams, where they are often buried by soils deposited over them by wind, by stream action, or by slope wash. Although many projectile point forms were developed, some of the point forms were adopted from cultures farther east and west of the Plains area. Desert Archaic In the Desert or Western Archaic many groups maintained continuous occupation of caves and rockshelters over long periods. Preserved at \TDanger Cave\t in Utah and at other Desert Archaic sites were a number of organic artifacts: twined and coiled baskets, matting, sandals made from vegetable materials, wooden fire drills and hearths, animal-skin medicine pouches, cloth, hide moccasins, and feather robes. Characteristic lithic implements included a variety of notched and stemmed projectile points, drills, scrapers, and grinding and milling stones. Subsistence was based on many varieties of seeds, nuts, and other vegetable products, as well as on many species of animals, birds, and fish. Distinctive cultural complexes have been located at sites along the Pacific Coast and along the streams flowing into the sea, where the saltwater and freshwater food resources were extensively utilized. Arctic and Subarctic In the Aleutians, mainland Alaska, and across the Canadian Arctic, small population groups developed their distinctive hunting and gathering cultures, which reflected their unique adaptations to the harsh local environments. In the Bering Strait area a coastal sea-mammal hunting complex evolved over several thousands of years before 2000 BC, by which time early \TEskimo\t groups had spread eastward to northeastern Canada and Greenland. By this time Indian populations reliant on hunting and gathering were distributed in small groups through the interior forest and the tundra of the subarctic area. Woodland Culture About 1000 BC in Eastern North America, a number of pronounced cultural developments appeared that archaeologists identify as the prehistoric Woodland cultural complexes (see \TMound Builders\t). These developments included burial in earthen mounds; the production of pottery, tubular pipes, new gorget forms, and a preponderance of ungrooved axes or celts; the increasing use of copper for ornaments; and a noticeable increase in the trade and exchange of raw materials and finished artifacts. In the Adena complexes (c.500 BC) of the central Ohio Valley, large mounds with elaborate log tombs and earthen circles were constructed, reflecting the growing importance of burial ceremonialism, particularly for important males of the society. Throughout most of the East, sites of the Middle Woodland period, dating from the end of the 1st century BC to AD 300-400, reveal strong cultural links with the Hopewell sites of Ohio, which had gradually developed out of the Adena cultural complex. In Ohio circular and geometric earthworks, some extending over hundreds of acres, were associated with both small and large burial mounds, the latter sometimes enclosing hundreds of burials of individuals from differing social groups and statuses in the society. Elaborate grave goods made from copper, mica, and stone, decorated pottery, pottery pipes, large ocean shells of a number of species, and other exotic materials were associated with burials. Obsidian from Yellowstone Park and meteoric iron from a number of different meteor falls were made into implements and ornaments. Although maize was introduced into the East from the Southwest by this time, it was not a prominent part of the food supply. House forms shifted from circular wood and bark structures in Adena to near-rectangular dwellings. Other prominent but less spectacular Hopewellian developments appeared in the Illinois Valley and the northern Mississippi Valley, western Michigan, the Lower Mississippi Valley, the central and eastern Tennessee Valley and its tributaries, along the eastern Gulf Coast, and in the Lower Missouri Valley. North and east of this area were other Middle Woodland groups whose material culture was less advanced but also indicated a growth in population and an increasingly complex social organization. Mississippian Culture With the gradual decline and eventual disappearance of the Hopewellian during the mid-1st millennium AD, many local Late Woodland complexes appeared whose material culture was less spectacular but represented widespread changes in every facet of the way of life. Numerous indications have been found of a shift between AD 700 and 900 from an economy based primarily on hunting and gathering to one in which maize cultivation was increasingly important. Another important change was the introduction of the bow and arrow from the west. Settlements became more permanent, with house forms gradually becoming rectangular and with some villages having stockades or fortifications. In the Mississippi Valley and its major tributaries, stretching from Saint Louis, Mo., to Vicksburg, Miss., several hundreds of the so-called Mississippian societies appeared. From 900 to 1400 many major sites existed, with populations ranging from a few hundred to several thousand. These fortified villages and towns were associated with smaller villages, farmsteads, and hunting and gathering sites. Impressive earthen platform mounds to support civic and ceremonial buildings were built, often around a central open plaza. Substantial rectangular dwellings were typically enclosed by a stockade. A variety of utilitarian pottery forms was produced, including bowls, jars, plates, pans, and bottles. Although some mound burials were made, particularly for the elite of the societies, most of the dead were buried in cemeteries. Evidence of social stratification is indicated by the presence in burials of objects and clothing that are clearly symbolic of the deceased individual's leadership role in the society. In some areas warfare was apparently used to obtain dominance over neighboring groups in order to exact tribute and control over surplus production. Many historic Indian tribes are descended from these Mississippian societies, including the \TChickasaw\t, \TCreek\t, and \TNatchez\t. Agricultural societies with populations of several hundred also developed in the river valleys of the Plains from Kansas City, Mo., to Bismarck, N.Dak. They also had fortified villages, some with rectangular houses and some with circular earth lodges. Although they had an effective agricultural production, they continued to hunt bison and other Plains animals. Their material culture was not as varied as that of groups to the east, nor do strong indications of social stratification exist. Descendants of these Plains agriculturalists include the \THidatsa\t, \TMandan\t, \TOmaha\t, \TPawnee\t, and \TWichita\t. Southwest In the Southwest, with the introduction first of maize from northwestern Mexico and then of pottery, settled village agriculturalists--the \THohokam\t in southeastern Arizona and the Mogollon in southwestern New Mexico--flourished during the first half of the 1st millennium AD. This village development spread north and became the initial phase of the \TAnasazi\t societies beginning about AD 500. As these farming societies found ways to cultivate successfully in the dry environments of the Southwest, the population and cultural development grew remarkably with continuing stimuli from northwestern Mexico. From 700 to 1300 major centers developed throughout the Southwest, especially in \TChaco Canyon\t in west central New Mexico; in the San Juan Valley of northwestern New Mexico and northern Arizona; around present-day Flagstaff in northwestern Arizona; and in the \TMesa Verde\t area of southwestern Colorado. The construction of multiroom and multistory stone pueblo-type dwellings with subterranean ceremonial \Tkiva\t rooms, a rich and varied ceramic tradition, and the production of stone and bone tools and ornaments, baskets, mats, woven bags, and cotton cloth represent the climax of Anasazi culture. After 1300 a marked retraction of Anasazi societies into the most favorable areas for agriculture occurred, probably the result of drier conditions. In these areas the \THopi\t, \TZuni\t, and Rio Grande \TPueblo\t Indians have maintained many of their ancestors' ancient cultural patterns to the present day. By about 1500 the hunter-gatherer ancestors of the \TApache\t and \TNavajo\t began to invade the Southwest from the north. Although they were often in conflict with the Pueblo groups, they gradually adopted elements of Pueblo culture, such as farming, weaving, and some religious ideology. James B. Griffin Bibliography: Fagan, Brian M., The Great Journey: The Peopling of Ancient America (1987); Fitting, James E., ed., The Development of North American Archaeology (1973); Folsom, Franklin and Mary, America's Ancient Treasures, 3d rev. ed. (1983); Gorenstein, Shirley, ed., North America (1975); Jelks, Edward B., et al., Historical Dictionary of North American Archaeology (1988); Jennings, Jesse D., Ancient North Americans (1983), Ancient Native Americans (1978), and Prehistory of North America, 2d ed. (1974); Jennings, Jesse D., and Norbeck, Edward, eds., Prehistoric Man in the New World (1964); Martin, Paul S., et al., Indians before Columbus; Twenty Thousand Years of North American History Revealed by Archaeology (1975); McGregor, John C., Southwestern Archaeology, 2d ed. (1965); Quimby, George I., Indian Life in the Upper Great Lakes, 11,000 B.C. to A.D. 1800 (1960; repr. 1971); Snow, Dean P., The Archaeology of North America (1976); Spencer, Robert F., et al., The Native Americans; Ethnology and Backgrounds of the North American Indians, 2d ed., (1977); Willey, Gordon R., and Sabloff, Jeremy A., A History of American Archaeology (1974). See also: \TIndians, American\t; \TMesoamerica\t.