He Paleoindian or Paleo-American period Is the one that marks the colonization of the New World by Homo Sapiens that took place approximately between the years 15,000 and 7,000 BC. Its end is marked with the beginning of Ice age in the Pleistocene.
Most experts agree that the first humans came to America from Asia, through a land bridge formed along the Bering Strait.
It is also believed that they could have used rowboats to move one island to another. Regardless of the place of origin of these first immigrants, the fact is that their presence in the New World dates only from 15,000 BC.
It is believed that the paleoindian humans moved to America following herds of animals such as mastodons, mammoths, camels and bison that crossed the Bering Strait from Siberia to Alaska.
This crossing was possible thanks to the formation of large glaciers and ice sheets that allowed the water level to descend more than 45 meters, discovering the Aleutian Islands and linking America with Asia.
The evidence of these climatic and geological changes can be seen in different countries of the world. In Belize, the Blue Hole in the Lighthouse Reef, with its underground caves system is now submerged 120 meters below sea level.
However, during the Indian Paleo period, this cave, like the Bering Strait Bridge, was exposed above sea level.
During the Paleoindian period, there were more formations in the New World, apart from the bridge in the Bering Strait. Even millions of years before, North and South America were not connected, so the species of animals in both territories evolved differently.
With the emergence of land bridges in the Paleoindian period, Central America was formed and species were able to migrate from north to south again (Anderson, 2015).
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Who were the Paleoindians and why did they come to the New World?
Diverse anthropologists and archaeologists believe that the paleoindia were of Asian origin and migrated to America in search of the great Pleistocene animals, since their survival depended on them.
To date, no findings or evidence have been found to indicate that other human groups inhabited America prior to the Paleoindian period. However, this remains a possibility (Indians.org, 2017).
From Alaska, these early hunters moved south, passing through Canada, the United States and Mexico. Eventually, humans arrived in South America in 10,000 BC.
The nomadic lifestyle of these early settlers has left some evidence of how Paleo Indian tribes were constituted during this period (Holliday, 1997).
The few settlements that have been found, suggest that they used tools made with few materials, mainly wood, bones and stones.
Their most significant hunting implement was the flutes with which they fired projectiles with Clovis-type points.
Clovis points have been found throughout North and Central America. There are even indications that the Maya culture also used these types of tips.
Early indications that there were paleo Indian settlements in what is now known as Mexico were found in 1960.
Approximately a decade later archeological remains of other Paleo Indian settlements were found in Guatemalan territory, punctually in Los Tapiales and Valle Quiche, near Huehuetenango (Service, 2017).
The Paleo Indians moved through vast territories on foot or by water, always in small groups of 25 to 50 people. These groups of nomads used to settle in small quarries, sandbanks and places with similar physical characteristics.
Although they are known to be hunters and gatherers, it is not known for sure what their diet was made up of.
These nomadic groups were large consumers of a wide range of plants and animal species. In some parts of the continent, it has been found that they preferred to hunt large animals such as mammoths or giant sloths (Anderson, Ledbetter, & O'Steen, PaleoIndian Period Archeology of Georgia, 1990).
Findings in Belize
For a long period of time there was no evidence that the Indian Paloe inhabited the territory of what is now known as Belize.
However, early signs of its presence in this territory came to light in 1960 when two giant sloth bear bones were discovered by farmers near Santa Familia in the Cayo District.
The marks found on the bones suggested that the animal had probably been hunted by humans, who subsequently cut the bones to feed on the protein contained in the marrow.
However, there was no conclusive evidence of the presence of the Paleo Indians in Belize until 1980, when a farmer near Ladyville discovered the first Clovis point found in the country (Illinois, 2000).
Some years later, a farmer in the Toledo District found another fragment of a spear, similar to the Clovis previously found.
Since that time, fossils of teeth of the extinct mastodon have been found in Bullet Tree Falls, along with simple stone tools associated with the remains of the horse previously found in the cave in the Cayo District.
These small evidences indicate that some paleo Indians lived in Belize, who arrived in this part of the continent sometime between the year 10,000 and 7,000 a.c.
These civilizations developed tools and other implements that later allowed them to collect plants, fruits and to hunt larger animals in the open savannahs and near the rivers in the valleys.
Because of the nomadic habits of the Paleo Indian tribes that regularly traveled across the American continent, it has not been possible to find evidence that large houses or settlements have been built.
This condition, in general, has made it difficult to find archaeological remains dating to this period (NICH, 2017).
References
- Anderson, D. G. (August 3, 2015). New Georgia . Obtained from Paleoindian Period: Overview: georgiaencyclopedia.org
- Anderson, D. G., Ledbetter, et al. J., & O'Steen. D. (1990). PaleoIndian Period Archeology of Georgia. Georgia: University of Georgia.
- Holliday, V.T. (1997). Paleoindian Geoarchaeology of the Southern High Plains. Austin: University of Texas Pres.
- Illinois, M. (2000). Illinois State Museum . Obtained from Paleoindian: museum.state.il.us
- Org. (2017). Indians.org . Retrieved from PALEO INDIANS: indians.org.
- (2017). Institute of Archeology . Retrieved from Paleo-Indian Period: nichbelize.org.
- Service, N.P. (2017). Fort Smith . Retrieved from Paleoindian Period 12,000-10,000 BC: nps.gov.