The great journey

How, where, when, and why did human beings take the first steps in their journey to populate North America? First published in 1987, The Great Journey tells the story of the search for the first Americans--one of archaeology's great controversies. An enhanced edition of this dramatic narrative and real-life mystery follows the trail of evidence from the Old World to the New, beginning with an update on the debates and discoveries that have taken place since the late 1980s. Fagan presents the latest archaeological findings on both sides of the Bering Strait, new genetic and linguistic research that amplifies earlier theories, and he assesses the importance of global warming to first settlement. The saga of how Asians came across the Bering Sea land bridge begins with the emergence of modern humans in tropical Africa some 150,000 years ago. Fagan describes the great Homo sapiens diaspora, which included the settlement of America, during the late Ice Age. He evaluates the various routes that brought Stone Age hunter-gatherers from Siberia into North America and beyond. This magnificently readable book, widely regarded as a classic of archaeological writing, sets forth different scenarios for first settlement, the controversies over the extinction of large Ice Age animals, and a brief overview of cultural developments since the time of the Paleo-Indians. Lavishly illustrated with maps, photographs, and line drawings, the updated edition of The Great Journey offers an entertaining yet sober assessment of what we know about the first Americans. Brian M. Fagan is emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.