Thousands of years ago the first people traveled to the Americas. Many walked across the land bridge known as Beringia. After viewing the map above and reading chapter 1 in your text, what do you think would have been the most difficult aspect of taking this journey?
I think the most difficult aspect off this journey would be finding food and supplies. The travelers didn't know anything about the new territory, so it would be difficult to track and find new game as well as find edible and useable plants. The travelers might have encountered new predators or poisons.
ReplyDeleteGrant Webster
Grant's a stud.
DeleteI think the most challenging aspect of this journey would've been the land and the dangers that it posed. Since this "crossing-over" happened during the ice age, there would've been risks of drowning due to breakdowns of seasonal sea ice or risks of reaching areas where there is no vegetation or safe resting ground. This would also lead to the dying out of the prey that these people initially followed into the continent.
ReplyDeleteA factor of the arduous journey across Beringia was the deficient climate. While the glaciers would have had to be melted to allow the people to migrate, the frozen wonders would have stripped the land of vegetation and nutrients. As the sea level dropped, new habitats could be revealed. However, the constant cold winters and frigid ice sheets caused the early people great trouble as they walked the land bridge without their Northface winter coats.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most challenging aspects of the journey across Beringia must have been the lack of natural resources to built tools and weapons for hunting and traveling purposes. As the whole area was covered in ice and there was little to no natural vegetation, there would be little wood, for example of a necessary material, to build certain tools to hunt the little game that would be found.
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult aspect of taking this journey is the fact that taking the journey meant uncertain futures, and the people taking it most likely did not know exactly where they were headed. There was also the fact that they are migrating from their homes to explore and find new homes across Beringia, and going against the odds as well. They were faced with the weather and climate, as well as finding supplies necessary for survival while wandering in unknown territory. Taking the journey meant having to choose to take this risk, and to survive it.
ReplyDeleteOne of the hardest parts of the journey across Beringia would have been adapting one's mentality to a new set of circumstances. For example, North America was home to some of the largest animals of the Pleistocene epoch, including the mastodon, mammoth, and saber-toothed cat, and all of these species required different hunting strategies as compared to their typically smaller Asian relatives. The different resources found on the immense glaciers and later across America also forced the people to adopt a new way of thinking in order to survive.
ReplyDeleteIt pays to note that the land bridge was about 1,000 miles wide at it's largest and remained above sea for several thousand years at a time, therefore it is unlikely that the ancestors to modern Amerindians saw their migration as a 'journey'. Because the bridge was navigable for such long periods of time, it is more probable that the people simply followed their prey animals east with no predetermined intention of settling in the across an ocean.
The most difficult aspect of completing the journey across Beringia would have been a combination between the scarcity of recourses and the hostile nature of the climate. Since the Bering Strait was simply land that had been underwater previously, there was most likely little to no vegetation that could support a traveling band of hunters. Additionally the weather must have been extreme seeing as how there was no natural buffer to costal winds and storms.
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult aspect of the journey from Asia to North America would not have been the actual migration over Beringia as Beringia had a fairly mild climate with warm summers and snow-free winters. The most difficult part of this transcontinental migration would have been sustaining a population on the new continent. Initially, the bands hunter-gatherers would have been able to support themselves by exploiting the available resources such as the herds of mastodon and saiga. But as the economist Thomas Malthus theorized, a population will always outgrow its food source. Faced with overpopulation and northern Canada’s harsh climate during the last Ice Age, the Stone Age bands would have been forced to search for a more favorable environment. This would have led to starvation and social strife and would have eventually prompted the migration south around 13,000 B.C.E.
ReplyDeleteSources:
DeleteFaragher, John M., Mari J. Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many; A History of the American People; AP Edition. Sixth ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
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DeleteOne of the most difficult aspects of nomadic tribe peoples of Asia crossing Beringia was likely the unfamiliarity with the area. As Out of Many, AP Edition states, Desert Culture communities had seasonal hunting and gathering migration paths (Chap 1.3 {sorry I don’t have page number} Faragher). If that is true, it is also likely that the more ancient peoples of Asia could have had similar systems. Even if they didn’t, migrating across the same type of land so often, a community would eventually develop a familiarity and aptitude for hunting and gathering in that land. When some Asian hunter-gatherer communities crossed Beringia, the geography was completely different, possibly causing issues for for the peoples. These could have included issues for finding and tracking animals to hunt, and likely major issues in knowing what plants were edible. Although, these issues probably were quickly nullified after several years of migration across Beringia.
ReplyDeleteP.S. As a side note, I would like to bring up an argument for many posts on this blog, but I don’t want to respond to each of them individually…. Many people have been stating that difficulties would have included bad weather/climate issues and sparse vegetation. The textbook states in chapter 1.2 that the climate was good across Beringia. Also, the land bridge lasted for 6000 years, indicating that for the most part, vegetation was likely as good or better than it is 14000 years later in modern day Alaska and east Russia. The main difficulty climate wise would have been long after the crossing of Beringia, when many deep glaciers on the north western slope of the Rocky Mountains blocked their passage south.
Works Cited
DeleteFaragher, John M., Mari J. Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. "Out of Many; A History of the American People; AP Edition. Sixth ed." New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print. 17 Aug, 2013.
The most challenging part of this journey would of had to been the unknown of traveling to a place that you have no knowledge about. This is an area which was unknown and few had yet to explore. You are broadening your horizons after being in the same place for such a long time. You don't know when your next meal is going to be, or even if there is any food to eat and water to drink. You are leaving what is known to you and what has become your home. Once you made it to this new land you still didn't know what you were getting into regarding resources. This is why the unknown would be the most challenging part of the trip.
ReplyDeleteLikely, the most difficult aspects of taking this journey would be a combination of the method of travel and terrain being traveled on. The Native Americans who made this travel were all on foot, which would be a very difficult method travel; being the only method they had. This would prove to be especially difficult considering the travelers covered over 2,000 miles. The sheer distance they had to make on only foot would be a very challenging aspect of their journey. Not to mention the travel was also made on a terrain of ice, making it even harder. Though there are hypothesis stating that due to warming climate these travelers had dry surface under them, ice still could have been an obstacle regardless.
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult aspect of this journey would have been the social conflict that would have arisen. The land is new, some plants are new while others are familiar and suddenly an animal you've never seen before runs across your path. How to proceed in such a situation would have surely been discussed amongst the high ranking tribes members and its only natural that they would have disagreed. But this situation was much more serious than a debate of which restaurant to eat at or what movie to see as a family. Lives would have been on the line in some situations, causing tempers to run high. I imagine that it would have been easy for a person to become upset and disrupt the normal order of life. And as it was unknown land, any behavior that affected the tribe negatively would have been unacceptable. Social conflict would have been the most difficult aspect of crossing the land bridge Beringia .
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult aspect of taking on this journey would be encountering other bands of hunter/gatherers.Everyone that they meet along their journey would most likely be hostile because you're in there territory and you're a threat to their food supply. Everyone on this journey is there because of the wild game and it's an all out, survival of the fittest type mentality, the strongest will survive
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult aspect of this journey would be the unreliable food source at the time. Being just after an ice age, vegetation and plants were most likely having a difficult time growing back. Even if they could find vegetation, they had no clue what to and what not to eat. The same goes for animals, being in a different region most likely meant different animals. Since they had not seen these animals before they most likely were frightened and had doubts about killing the animals.
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ReplyDeleteThe largest obstacle of the journey would have been entering the unknown. North America would have been similar to a myth like the City of Gold, and Beringia would have been the mystery surrounding it. To get to this wonderful place, migrants would have to enter into the fog where nothing was known. There was a possibility of getting lost due to the migrants not knowing where they were going. The migrants might have encountered dangerous predators and a harsh climate that they didn't know of. The fog that surrounded the myth would have been the most difficult aspect of the journey.
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult aspect of pursuing this journey across Beringia, would have likely been the complicated and tedious process of one having to adapt to new methods of hunting one's game. Even though this migration was primarily inspired by the relocation of New World animals to Northern America, these migrants would have eventually come across new mammals and possibly larger ones in the area. These bands of Asian hunting-gathering communities most likely did not have knowledge of the creatures that inhabited this region or the level of aggression these creatures displayed upon encounter. According to the Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, the first Indians and true pioneers of the Americas merely possessed stone and wooden tools, leading to the assumption that they had no spears. Because their technology was limited, they could have most likely adopted the practice of new hunting methods that would have needed time after their relocation to perfect and efficiently use.
ReplyDeleteWaldman, Carl. "prehistoric Indians." Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Third Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
DeleteItemID=WE52&iPin=ind2422&SingleRecord=True (accessed August 20, 2013)
With the migration of people from Asia across Beringia to North America, the most dangerous aspects would have been the dry climate and the abundance of large mammals over smaller animals.
ReplyDeleteThe land of Beringia 30,000 to 10,000 years ago had a relatively dry climate, not suitable for trees and many types of plants. It would have been near impossible for the migrants to make weapons like spears without wood, making it very difficult to hunt animals for food and materials. Also, due to the lack of edible plants, the migrants wouldn’t have been able to gather much food in the form of vegetation.
Although trees and many plants could not survive in its dry climate, Beringia was the perfect place for large mammals like mammoths and bison, who migrated here due to the large grasslands and warm summers. This was what had originally attracted people to the subcontinent; they provided most of for most of the food and materials that they needed to survive. However, these animals were also one of the migrants’ biggest dangers. Large and aggressive, large mammals like bison were far more dangerous to hunt than small game like deer and rabbits, and with the addition of woodless weapons, far harder to kill. To make matters worse, people were forced to hunt them as they were one of the only sources of food in the area.
The dry climate and large mammals of Beringia were the two most dangerous aspects of the area. They made it very difficult to find the necessary food and materials needed to survive. However, it is important to remember that, even with these dangers, the people of Beringia were still able to travel and settle all throughout North and South America.
Works Cited
DeleteFaragher, John Mack, Mari Jo Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
"What Is Beringia?" Shared Beringian Heritage Program. U.S. Department of the Interior, Mar.-Apr. 2013. Web. Aug.-Sept. 2013.
The most difficult aspect of the journey across Beringia would have been the small size of the groups of people traveling together. A study of genetic data by Jody Hey, a professor of evolutionary biology at Temple University, estimates that the founding population of the new world was less than 80 individuals. With these numbers, it is likely that many of the earliest immigrants to the Americas traveled in small groups numbering in the single digits. Small groups such as these would have a considerably harder time traveling than larger ones, as larger groups would have dissuaded any attacks by wildlife. Larger groups would also have made the splitting of jobs much easier, making sure everybody would not have had to do as much work as if they were in a smaller party. Additionally, if somebody in a large group was to get hurt or sick, they could be tended to by someone else, where smaller groups would not have that luxury, as everybody would all be very busy doing something to insure their own survival.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
DeleteHey, Jody. "On the Number of New World Founders: A Population Genetic Portrait of the Peopling of the Americas." The National Center for Biotechnology Information. Ed. Andy G. Clark. US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, 24 May 2005. Web. 24 Aug. 2013.
The most difficult aspect of the voyage across Beringia would have been not knowing if you and your family were going to survive the long walk. The journey would have included both the young and the old. Since, the voyage would have taken over 2000 miles to complete, it would be very difficult to ensure that everyone made it safely.
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult part of the journey would be the need to adjust to the new habitats. While the climate would be fairly similar because Beringia is all in a similar longitude, North America had been developing in isolation which would have caused unique wildlife. While some might argue that since the first people traveling to America were following game the habitat would not be an issue since they had a food supply but new plants and animals could have caused issues. Gathering was an important part in these peoples life and not knowing what was safe to eat or what plant could be helpful medically may have been an issue.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest part of the journey would be adapting to all new challenges across Beringia. Beringia was fraught with dangers such as ice, temperatures, wild animals and other such things. The migrants would have to deal with different weather and territory than they were used to. They would also have to learn how to hunt and forage in this new land to survive the journey.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest part of the journey across Beringia into the Americas would have been the sheer length of the journey. Not only would the nomads have to be very good hunter-gatherers, but would also have to be lucky enough to stumble upon food and water sources that were necessary for survival.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest part of the journey across Beringia to the America's would be the other nomad tribes that were also crossing at the same time. The nomads had to walk for years on end, all the while they were watching out for other nomads. There could have been attacks or ambushes resulting in the death of many or the crossers.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest part of the journey seems to have been travel. Berginia stretches miles along unexplored land. The trek by walk seems relentless. Having to move not only your self but all the supplies you need to create a new home. Food, animals, tools, family. Taking that journey by foot or by wagon by far was the most difficult.
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