AP US History in 1 Minute Daily: Peopling of North America (Day 2/309)

Welcome to APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!

Today we will be discussing the Peopling of North America, or rather how the first Americans arrived. 

Commonly taught is the Bering Land Bridge Theory: This theory proposes that the first humans arrived in North America by crossing a land bridge called Beringia. During the last Ice Age, sea levels were much lower, which exposed a land bridge where the first Americans may have crossed while following animal migrations.

Less frequently taught are Indigenous Oral Histories. These stories are varied and are often called Creation Stories. One example is from the Iroquois tribe and it declares that the pregnant Sky Woman fell down to the vast ocean. She landed on a turtle’s back where she created the earth and gave birth to twins.

There are several other theories and creation stories, but ultimately it is most likely that multiple migration routes and waves of human dispersal might have occurred over time.

Join me tomorrow as I explain life in Mesoamerica before European conquest in our next APUSH in 1 Minute Daily!