Recent research is giving us
ground-breaking new information about human origins in the Americas.
Innovative new studies have yielded results that question the standard
older theories of Native American origins. How do these articles
challenge the prevailing theory that the makers of Clovis points were the
earliest New World inhabitants (11500 BP -- "before
present")*? Do your articles represent a departure from the
Bering Strait Crossing Theory*, that a single extended migration across a
temporary Alaskan land bridge was the origin of Native Americans in the
New World? Do your articles propose new dates for the First
Americans?
Keeping the above questions in mind:
1) Write for the class a solid one-page
summary of what these articles are telling us. You'll need to avoid
the details: summarize! Give us the essence of what they are saying.
2) Come to class next time
(Jan. 15) ready to
explain the significance of the research reports you have
reviewed. (Just so you'll know, some in the class will have read the
same articles, others will have gotten different ones.)
3) We need you to turn in your
summary next class period (Jan. 15). We will copy and distribute selected
papers on each "article set" so everyone will have a summary of
each theory.
*Read your text
assignments to know about this.
