Emily Chan
But records also showed that much of the coastal region was covered with sea ice in winter until around 15,000 years ago. So, instead of traveling through the water by boat, early Americans may have used the sea ice as a highway of sorts. It provided a means of travel as well as a platform for hunting marine mammals. Even today, Arctic people trek across sea ice on snowmobiles and dog sleds.
The climate data indicates that the most suitable conditions for migration along the coast were between 24,500 and 22,000 years ago and 16,400 to 14,800 years ago. Given that most of the evidence from the archaeological sites is now underwater, it will be tough to locate further proof that people were using the sea ice to travel.
Nevertheless, the latest findings have brought researchers a step closer to understanding how humans moved across continents.
