Characterizing the American Upper Paleolithic

Area of Science:

• Paleoanthropology
• Archaeology
• Lithic Technology

Background:

• North American archaeological sites predating 13,500 calibrated years before present (cal yr B.P.) offer insights into early human technological traditions.
• Shared technological features in these assemblages suggest connections to Northeast Asian Late Upper Paleolithic cultures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the characteristics of the shared lithic tradition in early North American tool assemblages.
• To investigate the origins and migration patterns of the first peoples in the Americas based on lithic technology.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of lithic tool assemblages from North America and Northeast Asia.
• Dating of archaeological sites using calibrated radiocarbon years before present (cal yr B.P.).

Main Results:

• Early North American toolkits exhibit dual core-and-blade and biface technologies, also found in northern Japan around 20,000 cal yr B.P.
• These technologies were utilized to create small projectile points, including stemmed forms with an ogive design.
• Similarities suggest a common technological origin for populations in the Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Kuril region and early Americans.

Conclusions:

• A population with a distinct lithic technology likely became isolated in the Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Kuril region, evolving into ancestral American groups.
• A subset of this population migrated into the Americas via the southern Beringian and Northwest coasts between 22,000 and 18,000 cal yr B.P.
• By 16,000-15,000 cal yr B.P., these populations were widespread across North America, indicating rapid dispersal.