Aside from Antarctica, which still doesn’t have a permanent presence today, the Americas were the last continents to which people made their way. Most, though not all, of our ancestors evolved in Africa; Homo erectus or even earlier hominins arrived in Eurasia by no later than 1.8 million years ago and almost certainly hundreds of thousands of years before that; a variety of different species, including
Long time, first time: I loved the last couple episodes and this substack on the Americas. I'm First Nation (Canadian) and have to admit that at times I've struggled with accepting even the basic science because it conflicts with the cultural stories and origin myths we have learned growing up.... BUT...I really am excited that the science is improving and diversifying and painting a richer picture of our shared history. It helps make the scientific story more palpable! : )
PS - loved the bit on the process of collaboration between local indigenous groups and scientists to co-determine a story and what/how to use the "bones" or evidence for. Keep up the great work!
Patrick -- Your new series on human origins is fantastic, a very cogent and understandable presentation of this topic (in contradistinction to other podcasts that cover these topics in a way that is oriented toward specialists). Keep up the great work.
This episode was really interesting, thanks for it. One thing I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around is how the Americas were populated so quickly. You point out that the groups who crossed to the Americas were small, and you also say that they would not have left many traces as they moved through, so how did they manage to populate the continents? Presumably they would have to settle and thrive before a group could split and send off a new colony. So how did humans spread so quickly? Thank you!
Great write up, and with the recent news (with impeccable timing) that there are potential human artifacts dating back 30k years, makes this field of study all the more exciting. Think the next leap forward is South America for future excavations? Would help eliminate variables potentially.
Long time, first time: I loved the last couple episodes and this substack on the Americas. I'm First Nation (Canadian) and have to admit that at times I've struggled with accepting even the basic science because it conflicts with the cultural stories and origin myths we have learned growing up.... BUT...I really am excited that the science is improving and diversifying and painting a richer picture of our shared history. It helps make the scientific story more palpable! : )
PS - loved the bit on the process of collaboration between local indigenous groups and scientists to co-determine a story and what/how to use the "bones" or evidence for. Keep up the great work!
So interesting!! When we learned about a “land bridge” connecting Russia and Alaska in school, you just really never imagined this. Love it!
Patrick -- Your new series on human origins is fantastic, a very cogent and understandable presentation of this topic (in contradistinction to other podcasts that cover these topics in a way that is oriented toward specialists). Keep up the great work.
This episode was really interesting, thanks for it. One thing I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around is how the Americas were populated so quickly. You point out that the groups who crossed to the Americas were small, and you also say that they would not have left many traces as they moved through, so how did they manage to populate the continents? Presumably they would have to settle and thrive before a group could split and send off a new colony. So how did humans spread so quickly? Thank you!
Love your podcasts Patrick. Keep them coming for many more years!
Great write up, and with the recent news (with impeccable timing) that there are potential human artifacts dating back 30k years, makes this field of study all the more exciting. Think the next leap forward is South America for future excavations? Would help eliminate variables potentially.