Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – For many years, researchers have discussed two main theories about how people first migrated to North America: one suggests migration across the Siberian land bridge known as Beringia around 13,000 years ago, while the other proposes an earlier migration along a Pacific coastal route, possibly as early as 20,000 years ago.
A recent study provides new insights into this debate. By analyzing stone tools, scientists have found compelling evidence supporting the idea that ancient peoples from the Pacific Rim traveled along a coastal route from East Asia during the last ice age. This movement likely led to the arrival of North America’s First Peoples.
Map of locations and sites. Credit: David B. Madsen et al, Characterizing the American Upper Paleolithic, Science Advances (2025).
The archaeological findings in this study favor the coastal migration theory. They suggest that early seafarers gradually entered the Americas from regions such as Hokkaido—the northernmost island of Japan—during the last glacial period. Additionally, recent genetic research aligns with these conclusions by showing connections between Indigenous Peoples in what is now the United States and Canada and populations from East Asia and Northern Eurasia.
“This study puts the First Americans back into the global story of the Paleolithic—not as outliers—but as participants in a shared technological legacy,” said Loren Davis, professor of anthropology at Oregon State University and one of the study’s lead authors.
“This marks a paradigm shift. For the first time, we can say the First Americans belonged to a broader Paleolithic world—one that connects North America to Northeast Asia,” he said.
Davis and his team conducted an analysis of stone tool technologies from North American archaeological sites dating between approximately 20,000 and 13,500 years ago, a period they refer to as the American Upper Paleolithic. Their research revealed that the earliest examples of this particular style of projectile points first appeared around 20,000 years ago in Hokkaido.
Known as bifaces, these projectile tips are crafted by flaking both sides of the stone to produce a strong, razor-sharp edge ideal for hunting. This innovation marked a significant advancement in hunting technology. The study further indicates that this sophisticated weapon system was brought into the Americas, where similar tools show notable continuity with each other and with artifacts found at numerous Late Upper Paleolithic sites throughout East Asia.
“The discovery of this archaeological connection rewrites the opening chapter of human history in the Americas,” Davis said. “It shows that the First Americans were not cultural isolates, but participants in the same Paleolithic traditions that connected people across Eurasia and Asia.”
Davis and his team have found that the early stone tools they studied are notably smaller and lighter than those from later Paleoindian periods, and were crafted using distinctly different techniques. This dual approach—combining core-and-blade production with bifacial point manufacture—forms the technological basis for later Paleoindian and subsequent American traditions.
Stone tools from a site in Idaho help tell the story of North America’s First Peoples. Credit: Oregon State University
This unique system acts as a technological fingerprint, linking the American Upper Paleolithic to its origins in Northeast Asia. While previous research has suggested this connection, Davis notes that their comprehensive analysis offers the strongest evidence yet.
Although archaeologists have long been aware of American Upper Paleolithic sites, it was expected that if people migrated across Beringia at higher latitudes, the earliest sites would be found in Alaska or Canada’s Yukon. However, Davis’s team focused on five primary sites located in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Idaho. Other similarly aged sites in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida show comparable tool patterns but lack enough artifacts for inclusion in this study.
An archaeological dig in Idaho where some of the stone tools were found. Credit: Oregon State University
Davis also points out that additional archaeological evidence may lie submerged along the eastern Pacific Rim due to rising sea levels after the last ice age. Unlike earlier studies that often focused on single locations, this research is notable for connecting multiple global sites to present a unified model of how humans first occupied America.
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“We can now explain not only that the First Americans came from Northeast Asia, but also how they traveled, what they carried, and what ideas they brought with them,” Davis said. “It’s a powerful reminder that migration, innovation, and cultural sharing have always been part of what it means to be human.”
The study was published in the journal Science Advances
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
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