The Bering Land Bridge Exphesis

The creation and introduction of the Bering Land Bridge hypothesis provided Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples with an explanation for how the peopling of North America came to occur that is separate from traditional Indigenous origin stories. However, it is key to note that, as with any hypothesis, there are academics who agree and disagree with the idea that people migrated from Asia to North America along the Bering land bridge (McIlwraith, 2016). The book by Dan O’Neill entitled The Last Giant of Bering (2004) claims to confirm the existence of the land bridge, whereas the article in the September issue of Nature entitled “Postglacial viability and colonization in North America’s ice-free corridor” (2016) claims the opposite. This …show more content…
The author begins by stating that this theory dates back to a Jesuit Missionary in 1590 who believed these people could not have evolved ‘in-situ’ (O’Neill 2004, 6). This was due to a religious explanation in which God created Adam and Eve in the old world, therefore, people must have migrated (O’Neill 2004, 7). While this idea is not widely accepted anymore, the migration model is one of great prominence. This book uses science to prove why the Bering land bridge is the best hypothesis to explain the peopling of North America. The scientists mentioned in the book studied the bones of animals found in North America and Asia and compared them to draw links to the two continents (O’Neill 2004, 8). Additionally, a Canadian geologist named W.A Johnson drew a connection between fluctuations in sea levels and past periods of glaciation (O’Neill 2004, 8). This was a crucial connection because it determined low sea levels during ice-age periods led to an accumulation of ice on the land, thus, allowing people to migrate (O’Neill 2004, …show more content…
This is clear because they have taken the time to produce substantial literature about the topic. Moreover, each of these pieces is similar because it takes old and new scientific data to support its claims and to draw conclusions about the Bering land bridge. In relation to the manner in which they were written, they vary on the spectrum of formality. The Nature article was without a doubt the most scientific and impersonal, which made it difficult for the reader to connect with the piece. In the middle of this spectrum is the book by O’Neill, the author sat at a middle ground of formality. On the opposite end of the spectrum was the book by Deloria which was significantly more informal and personal which allowed the reader to connect more with the subject being discussed and be persuaded about the issue as well as the injustices Indigenous people have faced by