Archaeologica.org

A new wrinkle is added.

http://www.livescience.com/43726-bering ... lived.html

The ancestors of Native Americans may have lived on and around the Bering Strait for about 10,000 years before streaming into the Americas, researchers argue.

In the new Perspectives article, published today (Feb. 27) in the journal Science, the researchers compile existing data to support the idea, known as the Beringia standstill hypothesis.

I'm finding it difficult to understand why people would permanently settle in Beringia during the entire course of the Last Glacial Maximum without searching for warmer climes. Being in Alaska during the winter is not easy, even in this "warm" interglacial (aka Holocene). This makes no sense.

Hell, Cogs. I've never figured out why people would deliberately head NORTH during an ice age to begin with. Seems counter-intuitive.

Seems like a real stretch to me that because there were insects and plants, there must have been people.

I, also, have my doubts.

But if that current was strong enough and warm enough, maybe.
How big, and how warm was its source?

We do have the present day Gulf Stream that warms the UK and Europe to the point that there are palm trees growing on the southernmost beaches if the Isles.
That shows just how much heat an ocean current can carry.

But, as I always ask, why only one route?

If the water was warm enough in the purposed current to still be warm that far north then there would be a corresponding clockwise current in the Southern Hemisphere.
And with a common source, it would be just as warm and inviting to a water comfortable populace.

ahem --- even in light of Arlington Woman, ca. 13ky, absolutely no mention of boats attend this thesis. nope, just stuck in place for ten thousand years. have there been any actual core samples with cultural middens that suggest any evidence supporting this presence or is this just another looney tunes thought experiment? Amazing something like this gets into Science.

Thanks for the breath of reason, Chris.