The scientific methods employed in the construction of origin theories of Canada's First Nations peoples are diverse and the results are inconclusive. Skeletal evidence of what is believed to be the first modern human, or homo sapien, was found in Africa and is dated to 40,000 years ago. Based upon this information, scientists place the origin of the human species outside of the Americas. This is contrary to the belief of First Nations peoples. According to their oral tradition, they originated in North America and did not migrate from somewhere else. Scientists from several different disciplines support theories of migration from Asia to the Americas, but they disagree over when, how or why the first humans came to the Americas. The following theories attempt to explain the time frame, method, and reason for these migrations:

Beringia Land Bridge

A Jesuit priest, Jose de Acost (1539-1600), was the first to propose the possibility of a temporary land bridge called Beringia. This land bridge was a possible route by which homo sapiens (modern humans) crossed from Asia to the Americas. In 1856, Samuel Haven built upon de Acost's theory and hypothesised that during the Pleistocene epoch (approximately 20,000 years ago) large areas of the continental shelf were exposed and sea levels dropped because water was locked up in glacial ice. This created a landmass approximately 2,000 km wide across the Bering Strait, between Siberia and Alaska.

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The Beringia land bridge is widely accepted as the most probable migratory route of humans into the Americas. Geologists estimate that this land bridge formed during the Wisconsin glaciation period, which began 75,000 years ago and ended about 14,000 years ago. Deep-sea soil cores taken from beneath the waters of the Bering Strait provide evidence that the landscape during the time of exposure would have consisted of a dry tundra plain environment. The climate might have been similar to the climate of present-day tundra or grassland Plains environments, with short summers, extremely long cold winters and perpetual winds. Remains of large mammals such as mammoth, mastodon, giant bison, and saiga antelope have been found, suggesting that the first North Americans were big game hunters. These Stone Age hunters followed the herd migrations across the Beringia plain to North America. But evidence also suggests they were foragers of sea mammals, fish, and vegetation. It is estimated that Beringia was capable of supporting fifteen to twenty-five people per 386 square miles, which is the equivalent to modern day Inuit. The archaeological record indicates the migration routes flowed west to east across the Beringia land bridge. Peoples then moved south into North America by following possible unglaciated routes along the pacific coastline or an Alberta corridor. The theory of an ice-free corridor running north and south through Alberta during the Late Wisconsin period was introduced by geologists in the 1950s. The glaciers that covered the Rocky Mountains from Alaska through British Columbia are called the Western Cordilleran glaciers, and Laurentide glaciers covered the area from the Atlantic to southeastern Alberta. Geological evidence suggests that the Western Cordilleran did not meet the Laurentide ice sheets, thereby creating an ice-free corridor through Alberta. Although the corridor was capable of supporting animal and human life, it was a harsh environment. It would have been a valley located between ice mountains, a barren landscape of severe climatic conditions.

Trans-Oceanic Migrations

In 1995, Deloria disputed the Beringia theory based upon his hypothesis that the ocean's water levels had to drop sixty metres in order to fully expose a land bridge. He believes that this was impossible and that the climate would have been uninhabitable for humans due to the glacial landscape. Ultimately, if Deloria is correct in his evaluation of the Beringia environment, humans must have come by a different route to the Americas.

Instead, trans-oceanic migrations could have lead Asian, Australian, or Siberian peoples to any point along the coastlines of the Americas. Therefore, post-glacial migration on the Americas could have moved north and east. Although the theory of human trans-oceanic migration is disputed, archaeologist Knut Fladmark believes humans have had the skills to travel by sea for 30,000 years. He also maintains that migration continued by sea after the landmass of Beringia was flooded. Although, some anthropologists believe that humans did not have the skill or the technology for deep-sea voyages, Fladmark argues that cross-Pacific migrations are viable because of a sea current that follows a path from Japan to the North American coastline. Another possible migration route is to travel by both land and sea along the coastlines of Beringia. This is supported by the theory that the main food sources for migrating peoples came from both land and sea.

Continental Migration after Climatic Change

Animated Map of North America The Recession of Glacial Ice Courtesy of the Illinois State Museum KYA: Thousands of Years Ago

Animated Map of Human Settlement in North America Courtesy of the Illinois State Museum

During the late Wisconsin glaciation period (approximately 18,000 to 10,000 years ago), what is today known as Canada was ninety-seven per cent covered by thick glacial ice. The areas of the Pacific Cordilleran and possibly an Alberta corridor were the only unglaciated regions with temperate climates that could support human and animal life. Around 8000 B.C.E. (Before Common Era), however, a thaw occurred that caused the glacial ice to recede north or to melt into the oceans. The oceans rose and the landmass of Beringia was entirely submerged. The thaw brought about climatic changes throughout the North American continent and diverse geographic regions were created, regions that have remained fundamentally the same to the present day. As the climatic and land conditions changed to support animal life and sustainable vegetation, humans migrated, settling always further east.

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