East Asia (35¸000 to 15¸000 years ago)
We know enough about prehistoric Asia to realize that this was not not a backward¸ peripheral region of the Ice Age world. We cannot just argue that big¸ game hunters from the Ukraine and the western steppe–tundra migrated steadily northeastward into Siberia and then into the Americans. Rather¸ the spread of modern humans into central Asia¸ northern China¸ and the extreme northeast was a complex process that began at least 35¸000 years ago.
Many biological anthropologists assume that Homo erectus¸ originally a tropical and subtropical animal¸ settled in the warmer southern parts of China first¸ then radiated northward into more temperate environments. However¸ how far north? It is not until just before 35¸000 years ago that a few signs of human settlement appear along the banks of the Huang–Ho River in the arid grasslands of Mongolia. Open landscapes such as this and the neighboring steppe–tundra could support only the sparest of forager populations¸ people who placed a high premium on mobility and portable tool kits. They were some of the first of the late Ice–Age people to develop diminutive mircoliths.
The microlith (a term derived from the Greek micros¦ small and lithos¦ stone) is a highly distinctive artifact¸ manufactured from carefully prepared wedge–shaped¸ conical¸ or cylindrical cores. However¸ their very size mircoliths were designed to be mounted in antler¸ bone¸ or wooden hafts to serve as spear barbs¸ arrow points¸ or small knives and scraper blades. Such diminutive artifacts came into use almost everywhere in knives and scraper blades. Such diminutive artifacts came into use almost everywhere in post–Ice Age world¸ for they were highly adaptive when used with slender wooden arrow shafts or with stout wooden handles. They first appear in a crude form in northern China at least 30¸000 years ago¸ were in widespread use by 25¸000 to 20¸000 years ago¸ and soon became popular in the arid open country of the steppe–tundra¸ an area where high mobility and portable tool kits were at a premium. A somewhat similar microblade technology developed in Siberia late in the late Ice Age. We do not know¸ however¸ whether the first human inhabitants of northeastern Asia were people with such diminutive tool kits¸ or whether they used a heavier weaponry that included stone–tipped spears with sharp projectile points. Unfortunately¸ the archaeology of northern China¸ northeastern Siberia¸ and Alaska is little known because harsh environmental conditional make filed work possible for a mere two months or so a year in many places. We can only guess at a possible scenario for first settlement of this vast area¸ and of the Americas.
Sinodonty and Sundadonty¦
That the first Americans came from Siberia is unquestionable¸ but their ultimate ancestry is a matter of much debate. Christy Turner of Arizona State University has long studied the dental characteristics of native American populations and compared them to other groups in the Old World. He has shown that the crowns and roots of human teeth give clues to the degree of relationship between prehistoric populations. These tooth features are more stable than most evolutionary traits¸ with a high resistance to the effects of environmental differences¸ sexual distinctions¸ and age variations. In particular¸ he has focussed on a pattern of specialized tooth features he calls Sinodonty.
Sinodonty hallmarks include incisor shoveling (the scooped–out shape on the inside of the tooth¸ double–shoveling (scooping out on both sides)¸ singled–rooted upper first premolars¸ and three–rooted lower first molars. Sinodonty is characteristic of all native Americans. They share this feature with northern Asians¸ including northern Chinese. The morphological differences between Sinodonty and the other Mongoloid populations¶ whom Turner labels Sundadonts¸ is so great the he believes Siberia and the Americans were settled by Sinodonty populations from northern Asia. It was in China¸ he believes¸ that Sinodonty evolved¸ at least 40¸000 years ago. The problem is to find the archaeological sites to confirm this theory.
