How the First People Came to the Americas

Why did early humans migrate?

• To find food, fresh water, and safe shelter.

• To invent new languages.

• To build large cities.

• To discover electricity.

Early humans began to migrate to other continents because:

• they were searching for food and better living conditions.

• they wanted to invent new tools.

• they were following modern transportation routes.

• they wanted to build large cities.

Read the passage below and answer the question: The Ice Age was a time when large parts of Earth were covered in thick sheets of ice, called glaciers. This period lasted from about 2 million years ago to around 10,000 years ago. During the coldest parts of the Ice Age, so much water was frozen in glaciers that the oceans became much lower than they are today. When sea levels dropped, land that had been underwater was revealed. One of the most important places where this happened was between what is now Siberia (in eastern Russia) and Alaska (in North America). A large stretch of land, now called the Bering Land Bridge, became dry and connected the two continents. What event created the Bering Land Bridge?

• An earthquake

• Erosion of coastline

• The Ice Age

The migration across the Bering Land Bridge involved:

• people moving from Asia to North America during the Ice Age

• animals migrating from Africa to Europe

• the spread of agriculture from South America to North America

• the movement of people from Europe to Asia

The pull factors that caused people to migrate to the Americas included:

• opportunities for land and wealth

• lack of available food and water

• strict government control

• limited religious freedom

Evidence that supports the Land Bridge Theory includes:

• similar fossils found on different continents

• the presence of tropical plants in polar regions

• evidence of ancient boats crossing oceans

• written records from ancient civilizations

The most widely accepted theory of the earliest human migration to the Americas is that people

• crossed the polar ice cap from Norway to Canada.

• walked across a land bridge from Asia to Alaska.

• used seagoing vessels to sail from Africa to Central America.

• traveled in rafts and small boats from Pacific Islands to South America.

What is the most accepted theory about how the first humans come to the Americas 10,000 years ago?

• They built boats and sailed here.

• They hiked over the Andes Mountains.

• There were no humans in the Americas until 1492.

• They crossed the Bering land bridge.

People migrated to North America in which age?

• Middle Ages

• Bronze Age

• Ice Age

• Stone Age

Which of the following definitions best describes nomadic:

• A way of living that emphasizes agriculture.
• A lifestyle focused on permanent settlement.
• A culture that prioritizes urban development.
• A lifestyle characterized by moving from place to place.