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: Modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved in Africa around 200,000–300,000 years ago and began migrating out of East Africa approximately 60,000–70,000 years ago. These early humans spread into Asia, Europe, and eventually the rest of the world, replacing or interbreeding with local archaic humans like Neanderthals and Denisovans. Genetic evidence, especially from mitochondrial DNA, supports this as the origin of all modern humans. -
This controversial theory proposes that people from the Solutrean culture of Ice Age Europe (modern-day France and Spain) crossed the Atlantic Ocean along the ice edge in small boats around 20,000 years ago and were among the first to populate North America. Supporters point to similarities between Solutrean stone tools and early Clovis tools found in North America. However, the hypothesis is widely rejected by most archaeologists due to lack of solid genetic and archaeological evidence. -
This theory suggests that the first humans to reach the Americas migrated from Asia along the Pacific coastline in boats or by walking nearshore routes, shortly after the Last Glacial Maximum. They followed kelp forests and marine resources, arriving in the Americas before the opening of the inland ice-free corridor. Archaeological sites like Monte Verde in Chile support this early coastal entry. -
This widely accepted theory proposes that the first humans entered the Americas from Siberia by crossing the Bering Land Bridge (Beringia), which connected Asia and North America during the Ice Age when sea levels were lower. Migrants traveled through an ice-free corridor into the interior of North America, eventually spreading across the continent. This theory is supported by archaeological and genetic evidence, including the Clovis culture.