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The Bering Strait ( Russian : Берингов пролив , romanized :  Beringov proliv ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska . The present Russia - United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' 37" W longitude , slightly south of the Arctic Circle at about 65° 40' N latitude . The Strait is named after Vitus Bering , a Danish-born Russian explorer.

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93-418: The Bering Strait has been the subject of the scientific theory that humans migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge known as Beringia when lower ocean levels – a result of glaciers locking up vast amounts of water – exposed a wide stretch of the sea floor, both at the present strait and in the shallow sea north and south of it. This view of how Paleo-Indians entered America has been

186-541: A Franco-American syndicate represented by de Lobel to begin work on the Trans-Siberian Alaska railroad project, but no physical work ever commenced. Suggestions have been made to construct a Bering Strait bridge between Alaska and Siberia. Despite the unprecedented engineering, political, and financial challenges, Russia green-lit a US$ 65-billion TKM-World Link tunnel project in August 2011. If completed,

279-884: A Native American source population related to the Ainu ancestors, the Jōmon . Paleo-Indian skeletons in the Americas such as Kennewick Man (Washington State), Hoya Negro skeleton (Yucatán), Luzia Woman and other skulls from the Lagoa Santa site (Brazil), Buhl Woman (Idaho), Peñon Woman III , two skulls from the Tlapacoya site (Mexico City), and 33 skulls from Baja California have exhibited certain craniofacial traits distinct from most modern Native Americans, leading physical anthropologists to posit an earlier "Paleoamerican" population wave. The most basic measured distinguishing trait

372-677: A branch of Ancient East Asians migrated to Northeastern Siberia, and mixed with descendants of the ANE, leading to the emergence of Ancient Paleo-Siberian and Native American populations in Extreme Northeastern Asia. However, the Beringian standstill hypothesis is not supported by paternal DNA evidence, which may reflect different population histories for paternal and maternal lineages in Native Americans, which

465-615: A daughter population of ancient East Asians, who they encountered around 25,000 years ago, which led to the emergence of Native American ancestral populations. However, the exact location where the admixture took place is unknown, and the migratory movements that united the two populations are a matter of debate. One theory supposes that Ancient North Eurasians migrated south to East Asia , or Southern Siberia , where they would have encountered and mixed with ancient East Asians. Genetic evidence from Lake Baikal in Russia supports this area as

558-415: A flying saucer. In 1968, it was powered by an air-cooled, 320cc engine with a top speed of 25 mph. Following complaints of overheating and inefficiency, it was replaced in 1969 with a water-cooled 372cc engine. There were common complaints about discomfort from its flat seat and minimally-padded Ski-Doo supplied stainless steel handlebars. After only two years on the market, it was discontinued. The Sea-Doo

651-482: A lineage found among Native Americans and Han Chinese, emerged around 20,000 BP, constraining the emergence of D4h3 to post-LGM. Age estimates based on Y-chromosome micro-satellite diversity place origin of the American Haplogroup Q1a3a (Y-DNA) at around 15,000 to 10,000 BP. Greater consistency of DNA molecular evolution rate models with each other and with archaeological data may be gained by

744-404: A lure for coastal migration. Reconstruction of the southern Beringian coastline also suggests potential for a highly productive coastal marine environment. Pollen data indicate a warm period culminating between 17,000 and 13,000 BP followed by cooling between 13,000 and 11,500 BP. Coastal areas deglaciated rapidly as coastal alpine glaciers, then lobes of Cordilleran ice, retreated. The retreat

837-505: A much earlier date, possibly 40,000 years ago, followed by a much later second wave of immigrants. The Clovis First theory, which dominated thinking on New World anthropology for much of the 20th century, was challenged in the 2000s by the secure dating of archaeological sites in the Americas to before 13,000 years ago. The archaeological sites in the Americas with the oldest dates that have gained broad acceptance are all compatible with an age of about 15,000 years. This includes

930-562: A small Australasian ancestry component of c. 3% was detected, which remains unexplained by the current state of research (as of 2021 ), but may be explained by the presence of the more basal Tianyuan-related ancestry , a deep East Asian lineage which did not directly contribute to modern East Asians but may have contributed to the ancestors of Native Americans in Siberia, as such ancestry is also found among previous Paleolithic Siberians ( Ancient North Eurasians ). Sea-Doo Sea-Doo

1023-537: A team of 65 swimmers from 17 countries performed a relay swim across the Bering Strait, the first such swim in history. They swam from Cape Dezhnev, Russia, to Cape Prince of Wales , United States (roughly 110 kilometers (68 mi), due to the current). They had direct support from the Russian Navy, using one of its ships, and assistance with permission. A physical link between Asia and North America via

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1116-644: Is a Canadian brand of personal watercraft (PWC) and boats manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). All Sea-Doo models are driven by an impeller-driven waterjet. All Sea-Doo PWC models are produced at BRP's plants in Querétaro and Juárez , Mexico . Its Rotax engines are produced at BRP's plant in Gunskirchen , Austria . In 2016, Sea-Doo had a 45.8% share of the PWC market. Bombardier introduced its first personal watercraft in 1968, called

1209-540: Is less than 100%. The HTLV virus genome has been mapped, allowing identification of four major strains and analysis of their antiquity through mutations. The highest geographic concentrations of the strain HLTV-1 are in sub-Saharan Africa and Japan. In Japan, it occurs in its highest concentration on Kyushu . It is also present among African descendants and native populations in the Caribbean region and South America. It

1302-627: Is not uncommon and has been observed in other populations. A 2019 study suggested that Native Americans are the closest living relatives to 10,000-year-old fossils found near the Kolyma River in northeastern Siberia. A study published in July 2022 suggested that people in southern China may have contributed to the Native American gene pool, based on the discovery and DNA analysis of 14,000-year-old human fossils. The contrast between

1395-511: Is now Western Canada , would have allowed migration before the beginning of the Holocene . However, a 2016 study has argued against this, suggesting that the peopling of North America via such a corridor is unlikely to significantly pre-date the earliest Clovis sites. The study concludes that the ice-free corridor in what is now Alberta and British Columbia "was gradually taken over by a boreal forest dominated by spruce and pine trees" and that

1488-664: Is one of the five mtDNA haplogroups found in Indigenous Americans. Native Americans mostly belong to the X2a clade, which has never been found in the Old World . According to Jennifer Raff , X2a probably originated in the same Siberian population as the other four founding maternal lineages, and that there is no compelling reason to believe it is related to X lineages found in Europe or West Eurasia. The Kennewick man fossil

1581-809: Is rare in Central America and North America. Its distribution in the Americas has been regarded as due to importation with the slave trade. The Ainu have developed antibodies to HTLV-1, indicating its endemicity to the Ainu and its antiquity in Japan. A subtype "A" has been defined and identified among the Japanese (including Ainu ), and among Caribbean and South American isolates. A subtype "B" has been identified in Japan and India. In 1995, Native Americans in coastal British Columbia were found to have both subtypes A and B. Bone marrow specimens from an Andean mummy about 1500 years old were reported to have shown

1674-537: Is the dolichocephaly of the skull. Some modern isolated populations such as the Pericúes of Baja California and the Fuegians of Tierra del Fuego exhibit that same morphological trait. Other anthropologists advocate an alternative hypothesis that evolution of an original Beringian phenotype gave rise to a distinct morphology that was similar in all known Paleoamerican skulls, followed by later convergence towards

1767-499: The Alexander Archipelago . The now-submerged coastal plain has potential for more refugia. Pollen data indicate mostly herb/shrub tundra vegetation in unglaciated areas, with some boreal forest towards the southern end of the range of Cordilleran ice. The coastal marine environment remained productive, as indicated by fossils of pinnipeds . The highly productive kelp forests over rocky marine shallows may have been

1860-811: The Buttermilk Creek Complex in Texas, the Meadowcroft Rockshelter site in Pennsylvania and the Monte Verde site in southern Chile. Archaeological evidence of pre- Clovis people points to the South Carolina Topper Site being 16,000 years old, at a time when the glacial maximum would have theoretically allowed for lower coastlines. It has often been suggested that an ice-free corridor, in what

1953-579: The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the Beringian land bridge was again submerged. Estimates of the final re-submergence of the Beringian land bridge based purely on present bathymetry of the Bering Strait and eustatic sea level curve place the event around 11,000 years BP (Figure 1). Ongoing research reconstructing Beringian paleogeography during deglaciation could change that estimate and possible earlier submergence could further constrain models of human migration into North America. The onset of

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2046-544: The North American extinction event that occurred at the end of the Pleistocene. Their genome , however, contains evidence of a bottleneck – something that can be used to test hypothesis on migrations between the two continents. Early human groups were largely nomadic , relying on following food sources for survival. Mobility was part of what made humans successful. As nomadic groups, early humans likely followed

2139-619: The Puget lowlands up to 16,800 BP. Even during the maximum extent of coastal ice, unglaciated refugia persisted on present-day islands, that supported terrestrial and marine mammals. As deglaciation occurred, refugia expanded until the coast became ice-free by 15,000 BP. The retreat of glaciers on the Alaskan Peninsula provided access from Beringia to the Pacific coast by around 17,000 BP. The ice barrier between interior Alaska and

2232-547: The Quaternary glaciation , following herds of now-extinct Pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. Another route proposed is that, either on foot or using boats , they migrated down the Pacific coast to South America as far as Chile . Any archaeological evidence of coastal occupation during the last Ice Age would now have been covered by

2325-625: The Sea of Okhotsk , shows a marked shift from tree and shrub pollen to herb pollen prior to 30,000 BP, as herb tundra replaced boreal forest and shrub steppe going into the LGM. A similar record of tree/shrub pollen being replaced with herb pollen as the LGM approached was recovered near the Kolyma River in Arctic Siberia. The abandonment of the northern regions of Siberia due to rapid cooling or

2418-498: The Sevastopol Naval Base . There are five categories of Sea-Doo models: Recreation , Tow Sports, Touring, Sport Fishing , and Performance. The Sea-Doo jet-powered sport boats included a four-seater Sportster 150 with 155 hp or 215 hp, a four-seater Speedster 150 with 255 hp, and a seven-seater Speedster 200 with 310 hp, and a Speedster 230 with space for up to twelve people. The Wake 200 model

2511-684: The Ulchis of the lower Amur River region (4 among 87 sampled, or 4.6%), along with Subhaplogroup C1a (1 among 87, or 1.1%). Subhaplogroup C1a is regarded as a close sister clade of the Native American Subhaplogroup C1b. Subhaplogroup D1a has also been found among ancient Jōmon skeletons from Hokkaido The modern Ainu are regarded as descendants of the Jōmon. The occurrence of the Subhaplogroups D1a and C1a in

2604-481: The sea level rise , up to a hundred metres since then. The precise date for the peopling of the Americas is a long-standing open question. While advances in archaeology , Pleistocene geology , physical anthropology , and DNA analysis have progressively shed more light on the subject, significant questions remain unresolved. The " Clovis first theory" refers to the hypothesis that the Clovis culture represents

2697-508: The "Clovis people likely came from the south, not the north, perhaps following wild animals such as bison ". An alternative hypothesis for the peopling of America is coastal migration , which may have been feasible along the deglaciated (but now submerged) coastline of the Pacific Northwest from about 16,000 years ago. Pre-LGM migration across Beringia has been proposed to explain purported pre-LGM ages of archaeological sites in

2790-513: The "Ice Curtain". It was completely closed, and there was no regular passenger air or boat traffic. Since 2012, the Russian coast of the Bering Strait has been a closed military zone . Through organized trips and the use of special permits, it is possible for foreigners to visit. All arrivals must be through an airport or a cruise port, near the Bering Strait only at Anadyr or Provideniya . Unauthorized travelers who arrive on shore after crossing

2883-599: The 103-kilometer (64 mi) tunnel would be the world's longest. China considered construction of a "China-Russia-Canada-America" railroad line that would include construction of a 200-kilometer-long (120 mi) underwater tunnel that would cross the Bering Strait. In 1956, the Soviet Union proposed to the US a joint bi-national project to warm the Arctic Ocean and melt some of the ice cap. As designed by Petr Borisov,

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2976-466: The Americas followed by isolation of the northern population following closure of the ice-free corridor. Evidence of Australo-Melanesians admixture in Amazonian populations was found by Skoglund and Reich (2016). A study of the diversification of mtDNA Haplogroups C and D from southern Siberia and eastern Asia, respectively, suggests that the parent lineage (Subhaplogroup D4h) of Subhaplogroup D4h3,

3069-464: The Americas occurring around 10,000 to 15,000 years after isolation of the small founding population . Another model (Kitchen et al. 2008) proposes that migration into Beringia occurred approximately 36,000 BP, followed by 20,000 years of isolation in Beringia. A third model (Nomatto et al. 2009) proposes that migration into Beringia occurred between 40,000 and 30,000 BP, with a pre-LGM migration into

3162-838: The Americas such as Bluefish Caves and Old Crow Flats in the Yukon Territory , and Meadowcroft Rock Shelter in Pennsylvania. The oldest archaeological sites on the Alaskan side of Beringia date to around 14,000 BP. It is possible that a small founder population had entered Beringia before that time. However, archaeological sites that date closer to the LGM on either the Siberian or the Alaskan side of Beringia are lacking. Biomarker and microfossil analyses of sediments from Lake E5 and Burial Lake in northern Alaska suggest human presence in eastern Beringia as early as 34,000 years ago. These sedimentary analyses have been suggested to be

3255-589: The Bering Strait by removing St. Lawrence Island and parts of Seward and Chukotski Peninsulas . A strait 320 kilometers (200 mi) wide would let the Japan Current melt the Arctic Ocean. In the 21st century, a 300-kilometer (190 mi) dam has also been proposed. However, the aim of the proposal is to preserve the Arctic ice cap against global warming. During the Cold War , the Bering Strait marked

3348-453: The Bering Strait nearly became a reality in 1864 when a Russian-American telegraph company began preparations for an overland telegraph line connecting Europe and America via the east. It was abandoned when the undersea Atlantic Cable proved successful. A further proposal for a bridge-and-tunnel link from eastern Russia to Alaska was made by French engineer Baron Loicq de Lobel in 1906. Czar Nicholas II of Russia issued an order authorising

3441-546: The Bombardier Sea-Doo. It was designed by Clayton Jacobson II , who would later develop the more successful Kawasaki Jet Ski watercraft. Also heavily involved was Bombardier's Laurent Beaudoin , who was interested in expanding the success of the Ski-Doo snowmobile to the PWC market. Advertised as the "Jet-powered Aqua Scooter", the original yellow Sea-Doo was 5 feet wide and 7.5 feet long, somewhat resembling

3534-634: The LGM, due to cold and dry conditions. Coastal environments during the Last Glacial Maximum were complex. The lowered sea level, and an isostatic bulge equilibrated with the depression beneath the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, exposed the continental shelf to form a coastal plain. While much of the coastal plain was covered with piedmont glaciers, unglaciated refugia supporting terrestrial mammals have been identified on Haida Gwaii , Prince of Wales Island , and outer islands of

3627-524: The Last Glacial Maximum after 30,000 years BP saw the expansion of alpine glaciers and continental ice sheets that blocked migration routes out of Beringia. By 21,000 years BP, and possibly thousands of years earlier, the Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets coalesced east of the Rocky Mountains , closing off a potential migration route into the center of North America. Alpine glaciers in

3720-565: The Last Glacial Maximum, climates in eastern Siberia fluctuated between conditions approximating present day conditions and colder periods. The pre-LGM warm cycles in Arctic Siberia saw flourishes of megafaunas. The oxygen isotope record from the Greenland Ice Cap suggests that these cycles after about 45,000 BP lasted anywhere from hundreds to between one and two thousand years, with greater duration of cold periods starting around 32,000 BP. The pollen record from Elikchan Lake, north of

3813-565: The Pacific coast broke up starting around 16,200 BP. The ice-free corridor to the interior of North America opened between 13,000 and 12,000 BP. Glaciation in eastern Siberia during the LGM was limited to alpine and valley glaciers in mountain ranges and did not block access between Siberia and Beringia. The paleoclimates and vegetation of eastern Siberia and Alaska during the Wisconsin glaciation have been deduced from high resolution oxygen isotope data and pollen stratigraphy . Prior to

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3906-418: The Soviet Union in 3.3 °C (37.9 °F) water during the last years of the Cold War . She was congratulated jointly by American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev . In June and July 1989, three independent teams attempted the first modern sea-kayak crossing of the Bering Strait. The groups were: seven Alaskans, who called their effort Paddling Into Tomorrow (i.e. crossing

3999-574: The Soviet plan by arguing that while the plan was feasible, it would compromise NORAD and thus the dam could be built at only an immense cost. Soviet scientist D. A. Drogaytsev also opposed the idea, stating that the sea north of the dam and north-flowing rivers in Siberia would become unnavigable year round, and the Gobi and other deserts would be extended to the northern Siberia coastline. American Charles P. Steinmetz (1865–1923) earlier proposed to widen

4092-525: The Soviet project called for a 90-kilometer-wide (56 mi) dam across the Bering Strait. It would block the cold Pacific current from entering the Arctic. By pumping low-salinity cold surface water across the dam to the Pacific, warmer and higher salinity sea water from the Atlantic Ocean would be introduced into the Arctic Ocean. However, citing national security concerns, the CIA and FBI experts opposed

4185-562: The beginning of the cooling period that led into the LGM. A compilation of archaeological site dates throughout eastern Siberia suggest that the cooling period caused a retreat of humans southwards. Pre-LGM lithic evidence in Siberia indicate a settled lifestyle that was based on local resources, while post-LGM lithic evidence indicate a more migratory lifestyle. A 2021 discovery of human footprints in relict lake sediments near White Sands National Park in New Mexico demonstrated there

4278-596: The border between the Soviet Union and the United States . The Diomede Islands — Big Diomede (Russia) and Little Diomede (US)—are only 3.8 km (2.4 mi) apart. Traditionally, the indigenous people in the area had frequently crossed the border back and forth for "routine visits, seasonal festivals and subsistence trade", but were prevented from doing so during the Cold War. The border became known as

4371-525: The chronology of the controversial Pedra Furada rock shelter in Piauí , Brazil . More recently, studies at the archaeological sites Santa Elina (27000-10000 years BP) in the midwest, and Rincão I (20000-12000 years BP) in southeastern Brazil also show associations of evidence of human presence with sediments dating from before the LGM. A 2003 study dated evidence for the controlled use of fire to before 40,000 years ago. Additional evidence has been adduced from

4464-578: The coastal ranges and the Alaskan Peninsula isolated the interior of Beringia from the Pacific coast. Coastal alpine glaciers and lobes of Cordilleran ice coalesced into piedmont glaciers that covered large stretches of the coastline as far south as Vancouver Island and formed an ice lobe across the Straits of Juan de Fuca by 18,000 BP. Coastal alpine glaciers started to retreat around 19,000 BP while Cordilleran ice continued advancing in

4557-582: The crossing on Sea-Doos but were arrested and permitted to return to Alaska on their Sea-Doos after being briefly detained in Lavrentiya , the administrative center of the Chukotsky District . They were treated well and given a tour of the village's museum, but not permitted to continue south along the Pacific coast. The men had visas but the western coast of the Bering Strait is a closed military zone . Between August 4 and 10 (US time), 2013,

4650-399: The dating of marine terraces, and high-resolution oxygen isotope sampling from ocean basins and modern ice caps. A drop of eustatic sea level by about 60 to 120 metres (200 to 390 ft) from present-day levels, commencing around 30,000 years Before Present (BP), created Beringia , a durable and extensive geographic feature connecting Siberia with Alaska. With the rise of sea level after

4743-576: The deglaciated landscape increased slowly. The earliest possible viability of the ice-free corridor as a human migration route has been estimated at 11,500 BP. Birch forests were advancing across former herb tundra in Beringia by 17,000 BP in response to climatic amelioration, indicating increased productivity of the landscape. Analyses of biomarkers and microfossils preserved in sediments from Lake E5 and Burial Lake in northern Alaska suggest early humans burned Beringian landscapes as early as 34,000 years ago. The authors of these studies suggest that fire

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4836-614: The development of human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups (yDNA haplogroups ) and human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups (mtDNA haplogroups) characteristic of Native American populations. Models of molecular evolution rates were used to estimate the ages at which Native American DNA lineages branched off from their parent lineages in Asia and to deduce the ages of demographic events. One model (Tammetal 2007) based on Native American mtDNA Haplotypes (Figure 2) proposes that migration into Beringia occurred between 30,000 and 25,000 BP, with migration into

4929-484: The distribution of blood types , and in genetic composition as reflected by molecular data, such as DNA . While there is general agreement that the Americas were first settled from Asia, the pattern of migration and the place(s) of origin in Eurasia of the peoples who migrated to the Americas remain unclear. The traditional theory is that Ancient Beringians moved when sea levels were significantly lowered due to

5022-502: The dominant one for several decades and continues to be the most accepted one. Numerous successful crossings without the use of a boat have also been recorded since at least the early 20th century. The Bering Strait is about 82 kilometers (51 mi) wide at its narrowest point, between Cape Dezhnev , Chukchi Peninsula , Russia , the easternmost point (169° 39' W) of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales , Alaska , United States,

5115-477: The earliest human presence in the Americas about 13,000 years ago. Evidence of pre-Clovis cultures has accumulated and pushed back the possible date of the first peopling of the Americas. Academics generally believe that humans reached North America south of the Laurentide Ice Sheet at some point between 15,000 and 20,000 years ago. Some new controversial archaeological evidence suggests

5208-472: The early 21st century, the models of the chronology of migration are divided into two general approaches. The first is the short chronology theory , that the first migration occurred after the LGM, which went into decline after about 19,000 years ago, and was then followed by successive waves of immigrants. The second theory is the long chronology theory, which proposes that the first group of people entered Beringia, including ice-free parts of Alaska, at

5301-517: The early human groups who hunted them. Bison , a type of megafauna, have been identified as an ideal candidate for the tracing of human migrations out of Europe because of both their abundance in North America as well as being one of the first megafauna for which ancient DNA was used to trace patterns of population movement. Unlike other types of fauna that moved between the Americas and Eurasia ( mammoths , horses , and lions ), Bison survived

5394-401: The food from Eurasia to the Americas – part of the reason why tracing megafaunal DNA is so helpful for garnering insight to these migratory patterns. The grey wolf originated in the Americas and migrated into Eurasia prior to the Last Glacial Maximum – during which it was believed that remaining populations of the grey wolf residing in North America faced extinction and were isolated from

5487-571: The genetic profiles of the Hokkaido Jōmon skeletons and the modern Ainu illustrates another uncertainty in source models derived from modern DNA samples. The development of high-resolution genomic analysis has provided opportunities to further define Native American subclades and narrow the range of Asian subclades that may be parent or sister subclades. The common occurrence of the mtDNA Haplogroups A, B, C, and D among eastern Asian and Native American populations has long been recognized, along with

5580-635: The geologic association of bones at the Bluefish Cave and Old Crow Flats sites, and the related Bonnet Plume site, have been called into question. No evidence of human remains have been discovered at these sites. In addition to disputed archaeological sites, support for pre-LGM human presence has been found in lake sediment records of northern Alaska. Biomarker and microfossil analyses of sediments from Lake E5 and Burial Lake in suggest human presence in eastern Beringia as early as 34,000 years ago. These analyses are indeed compelling in that they corroborate

5673-556: The ice sheets, the oldest such sites occur in association with the Clovis complex. If humans managed to breach the continental ice sheets significantly before 13,000 BP, there should be clear evidence for it in the form of at least some stratigraphically discrete archaeological components with a relatively high artifact count. So far, no such evidence exists." Genetic studies have used high resolution analytical techniques applied to DNA samples from modern Native Americans and Asian populations regarded as their source populations to reconstruct

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5766-562: The inferences made from the Bluefish Cave and Old Crow Flats sites. In 2020, evidence emerged for a new pre-LGM site in North-Central Mexico . Chiquihuite cave , an archaeological site in Zacatecas State, has been dated to 26,000 years BP based on numerous lithic artefacts discovered there. However, there is scholarly debate over whether the artifacts should be considered evidence of human activity or if they were formed naturally. No evidence of human DNA or hearth have been unearthed. Pre-LGM human presence in South America rests partly on

5859-509: The international dateline); a four-man British expedition, Kayaks Across the Bering Strait ; and a team of Californians in a three-person baidarka , led by Jim Noyes (who launched his ambitious expedition as a paraplegic). Accompanying the Californians was a film crew in a umiak, a walrus-skin boat traditional to the region; they were filming the 1991 documentary Curtain of Ice , directed by John Armstrong. In March 2006, Briton Karl Bushby and French-American adventurer Dimitri Kieffer crossed

5952-411: The interruption of the first by bad weather. In February 2012, a Korean team led by Hong Sung-Taek crossed the straits on foot in six days. They started from Chukotka Peninsula, the east coast of Russia on February 23 and arrived in Wales, the western coastal town in Alaska on February 29. In July 2012, six adventurers associated with "Dangerous Waters", a reality adventure show under production, made

6045-401: The location where the admixture took place. However, a third theory, the "Beringian standstill hypothesis", suggests that East Asians instead migrated north to Northeastern Siberia, where they mixed with ANE, and later diverged in Beringia, where distinct Native American lineages formed. This theory is supported by maternal and nuclear DNA evidence. According to Grebenyuk, after 20,000 BP,

6138-470: The lower Amur region suggests a source population from that region distinct from the Altai-Baikal source populations, where sampling did not reveal those two particular subclades. The conclusions regarding Subhaplogroup D1 indicating potential source populations in the lower Amur and Hokkaido areas stand in contrast to the single-source migration model. Subhaplogroup D4h3 has been identified among Han Chinese . Subhaplogroup D4h3 from China does not have

6231-478: The lowering of sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum (26,000 to 19,000 years ago). These populations expanded south of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and spread rapidly southward, occupying both North and South America by 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. The earliest populations in the Americas, before roughly 10,000 years ago, are known as Paleo-Indians . Indigenous peoples of the Americas have been linked to Siberian populations by proposed linguistic factors ,

6324-409: The modern Native American phenotype. Archaeogenetic studies do not support a two-wave model or the Paleoamerican hypothesis of an Australo-Melanesian origin, and firmly assign all Paleo-Indians and modern Native Americans to one ancient population that entered the Americas in a single migration from Beringia. Only in one ancient specimen (Lagoa Santa) and a few modern populations in the Amazon region,

6417-412: The morphology of Luzia Woman fossil, which was described as Australo-Melanesian . This interpretation was challenged in a 2003 review which concluded the features in question could also have arisen by genetic drift. In November 2018, scientists of the University of São Paulo and Harvard University released a study that contradicts the alleged Australo-Melanesian origin of Luzia. Using DNA sequencing,

6510-427: The most closely related subclades grow more specific. Subhaplogroups D1 and D4h3 have been regarded as Native American specific based on their absence among a large sampling of populations regarded as potential descendants of source populations, over a wide area of Asia. Among the 3,764 samples, the Sakhalin –lower Amur region was represented by 61 Oroks . In another study, Subhaplogroup D1a has been identified among

6603-409: The only possibly recoverable remnants of humans living in Alaska during the last Glacial period. At Old Crow Flats, mammoth bones have been found that are broken in distinctive ways indicating human butchery. The radiocarbon dates on these vary between 25,000 and 40,000 BP. Also, stone microflakes have been found in the area indicating tool production. However, the interpretations of butcher marks and

6696-513: The period of the Last Glacial Maximum along with genetic evidence found from early human remains in the Americas provides evidence to support pre-Clovis migrations into the Americas. The Native American source population was formed in Siberia by the mixing of two distinct populations: Ancient North Eurasians and an ancient East Asian (ESEA) population. According to Jennifer Raff, the Ancient North Eurasian population mixed with

6789-618: The possibility that human arrival in the Americas may have occurred prior to the Last Glacial Maximum more than 20,000 years ago. During the Wisconsin glaciation , the Earth's ocean water was, to varying degrees over time, stored in glacier ice. As water accumulated in glaciers, the volume of water in the oceans correspondingly decreased, resulting in lowering of global sea level . The variation of sea level over time has been reconstructed using oxygen isotope analysis of deep sea cores,

6882-503: The presence of haplogroup X . As a whole, the greatest frequency of the four Native American associated haplogroups occurs in the Altai - Baikal region of southern Siberia. Some subclades of C and D closer to the Native American subclades occur among Mongolian, Amur, Japanese, Korean, and Ainu populations. With further definition of subclades related to Native American populations, the requirements for sampling Asian populations to find

6975-457: The presence of the A subtype. The finding ignited controversy, with contention that the sample DNA was insufficiently complete for the conclusion and that the result reflected modern contamination. However, a re-analysis indicated that the DNA sequences were consistent with, but not definitely from, the "cosmopolitan clade" (subtype A). The presence of subtypes A and B in the Americas is suggestive of

7068-421: The rate grew more rapid. The inland Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets retreated more slowly than did the coastal glaciers. Opening of an ice-free corridor did not occur until after 13,000 to 12,000 BP. The early environment of the ice-free corridor was dominated by glacial outwash and meltwater, with ice-dammed lakes and periodic flooding from the release of ice-dammed meltwater. Biological productivity of

7161-491: The rest of the population. This, however, may not be the case. Radiocarbon dating of ancient grey wolf remains found in permafrost deposits in Alaska show a continuous exchange of population from 12,500 radiocarbon years BP to beyond radiocarbon dating capabilities. This indicates that there was viable passage for grey wolf populations to exchange between the two continents. These faunas' ability to exchange populations during

7254-581: The results showed that Luzia's ancestry was entirely Native American. Stones described as probable tools, hammerstones and anvils , have been found in southern California , at the Cerutti Mastodon site , that are associated with a mastodon skeleton which appeared to have been processed by humans. The mastodon skeleton was dated by thorium-230/uranium radiometric analysis, using diffusion–adsorption–decay dating models, to around 130 thousand years ago. No human bones were found and expert reaction

7347-486: The retreat of game species with the onset of the LGM has been proposed to explain the lack of archaeological sites in that region dating to the LGM. The pollen record from the Alaskan side shows shifts between herb/shrub and shrub tundra prior to the LGM, suggesting less dramatic warming episodes than those that allowed forest colonization on the Siberian side. Diverse, though not necessarily plentiful, megafauna were present in those environments. Herb tundra dominated during

7440-457: The same geographic implication as Subhaplotype D1a from Amur-Hokkaido, so its implications for source models are more speculative. Its parent lineage, Subhaplotype D4h, is believed to have emerged in East Asia, rather than Siberia, around 20,000 BP. Subhaplogroup D4h2, a sister clade of D4h3, has also been found among Jōmon skeletons from Hokkaido. D4h3 has a coastal trace in the Americas. X

7533-531: The strait by 1847. In March 1913, Captain Max Gottschalk (German) crossed from the east cape of Siberia to Shishmaref, Alaska , on dogsled via Little and Big Diomede islands. He was the first documented modern voyager to cross from Russia to North America without the use of a boat. In 1987, swimmer Lynne Cox swam a 4.3-kilometer (2.7 mi) course between the Diomede Islands from Alaska to

7626-413: The strait on foot, walking across a frozen 90-kilometer (56 mi) section in 15 days. They were soon arrested for not entering Russia through a regular port of entry. August 2008 marked the first crossing of the Bering Strait using an amphibious road-going vehicle. The specially modified Land Rover Defender 110 was driven by Steve Burgess and Dan Evans across the straits on its second attempt following

7719-540: The strait, even those with visas, may be arrested, imprisoned briefly, fined, deported and banned from future visas. Bering strait theory The peopling of the Americas began when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers ( Paleo-Indians ) entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge , which had formed between northeastern Siberia and western Alaska due to

7812-404: The use of dated fossil DNA to calibrate molecular evolution rates. Although there is no archaeological evidence that can be used to direct support a coastal migration route during the Last Glacial Maximum , genetic analysis has been used to support this thesis. In addition to human genetic lineage, megafaunal DNA lineage can be used to trace movements of megafauna – large mammalian – as well as

7905-676: The westernmost point (168° 05' W) of the North American continent . Its deepest point is only 90 m (300 ft) in depth. It borders the Chukchi Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean ) to the north and the Bering Sea to the south. The strait is a unique habitat sparsely populated by the Yupik , Inuit , and Chukchi people who have cultural and linguistic ties to each other. From at least 1562, European geographers thought that there

7998-416: Was a Strait of Anián between Asia and North America. In 1648, Semyon Dezhnyov probably passed through the strait, but his report did not reach Europe. Danish-born Russian navigator Vitus Bering entered it in 1728. In 1732, Mikhail Gvozdev crossed it for the first time, from Asia to America. It was visited in 1778 by the third voyage of James Cook . American vessels were hunting for bowhead whales in

8091-669: Was a verifiable human presence in the region dating back to the LGM between 18,000 and 26,000 years ago. Later studies, reported in October 2023, confirmed that the age of the human footprints to be "up to 23,000 years old". The Clovis-first advocates have not accepted the veracity of these findings. In 2022, they said, "The oldest evidence for archaeological sites in the New World with large numbers of artifacts occurring in discrete and minimally disturbed stratigraphic contexts occur in eastern Beringia between 13,000 and 14,200 BP. South of

8184-415: Was accelerated as sea levels rose and floated glacial termini. It has been estimated that the coast range was fully ice-free between 16,000 and 15,000 BP. Littoral marine organisms colonized shorelines as ocean water replaced glacial meltwater. Replacement of herb/shrub tundra by coniferous forests was underway by 15,000 BP north of Haida Gwaii. Eustatic sea level rise caused flooding, which accelerated as

8277-429: Was found to carry the deepest branch of the X2a haplogroup, and he did not have any European ancestry that would be expected for a European origin of the lineage. The Human T cell Lymphotrophic Virus 1 ( HTLV-1 ) is a virus transmitted through exchange of bodily fluids and from mother to child through breast milk. The mother-to-child transmission mimics a hereditary trait, although such transmission from maternal carriers

8370-478: Was made for wakeboarding and the two Challenger models were less sporty and more luxurious: a smaller Challenger 180 and a larger Challenger 210. In 2012, BRP discontinued sport boat production, citing a decline in global sales in the marine industry. This meant the loss of 350 jobs, including most of those at a plant in Benton, Illinois . The Sea-Doo Spark which was released in 2014 was aimed to attract new buyers to

8463-458: Was mixed; claims of tools and bone processing were called "not plausible" by Prof. Tom Dillehay . The Yana River Rhino Horn site (RHS) has dated human occupation of eastern Arctic Siberia to 31,300 BP. That date has been interpreted by some as evidence that migration into Beringia was imminent, lending credence to occupation of Beringia during the LGM. However, the Yana RHS date is from

8556-566: Was re-introduced in 1988 as its own brand under Bombardier. By 1995, annual sales for the Sea-Doo reached over 100,000 units, signaling a turnaround in the company's declining sales. By 1997 the company had $ 212 million in sales, recapturing over half of the PWC market. In 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Sea-Doo personal watercraft converted into explosive unmanned surface vehicles were used to attack Russian naval vessels at

8649-505: Was used as means of hunting megafauna. The Indigenous peoples of the Americas have an ascertained archaeological presence in the Americas dating back to about 15,000 years ago. More recent research, however, suggests a human presence dating to between 18,000 and 26,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum. There remain uncertainties regarding the precise dating of individual sites and regarding conclusions drawn from population genetics studies of contemporary Native Americans. In

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