Tracking the First Americans Response, Essay Example

This reading analyzes the problem that archaeologists and other scientists have had throughout history in determining the exact time period that human beings had inhabited the geography of the United States.  It was interesting to find that scientists had believed they found the answer before the appearance of century-old spear heads were found by George McJunkin near Folsom, New Mexico.  These findings were important, even though they held very little significance to McJunkin, because they helped to show that science is never completely accurate.  New historical elements appeared that forced theories to change and also the ways in which the world viewed ancient human nomadic behaviors.  Due to these findings in Folsom and Clovis, the debate was no longer focused on whether ancient homo sapiens had previously inhabited the United States, but turned to trying to determine when they were first in the United States and how they came to be there.

Perhaps the most effective explanation is the theory that the coldest period of time in the Ice Age caused a great land mass to exist between Asia and the land known today as Alaska.  While some scientists may believe that Asians had built rafts to sail across the ocean, this is highly doubtful and nearly impossible.  Instead, it is more likely that a great sheet of ice existed to cover the oceans and form a bridge between these two continents.  Although scientists have not been able to find significant archaeological evidence to support this theory in Alaska, it is more likely that evidence would be found further south as the weather would naturally be warmer in this region.  For this reason, the concept that the United States was inhabited through a bridged land mass connecting the two great continents is the best explanation at this time.  Perhaps in the future evidence may be uncovered to determine a more precise explanation; however, this is exactly why historical science and theories are not always completely correct.