Paleoamerican Origins presents an overview of the peopling of the 
Americas and how a new law threatens the future of Paleoamerican 
research. Here, papers by leading Paleoamerican specialists make 
a strong case that the Clovis-first model, which proposed the 
Americas were only peopled once about 11,500 radiocarbon years 
ago by a small group of hunters from Siberia, can no longer be 
considered valid. New research suggests the Americas were peopled 
more than once by distinctly different populations.
 
    In 1990 Congress passed the Native American Graves and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). It mandates the return of human 
skeletal remains to modern tribal groups if cultural affiliation can be 
demonstrated.

    Content sections include Clovis, regional Paleoamerican 
archaeological sequences and environmental changes, pre-Clovis 
discoveries, South America, DNA, Paleoamerican skeletal evidence, 
Paleoamerican site chronology, and use of boats. The concluding 
sections summarize the legal framework of U.S. public policy and 
scientific research.

    A call is made for greater precision in how the scientific 
community and government agency decision-makers construct 
models for tracing cultural and biological relationships through time.

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What people are saying about this book

"This integrative analysis exemplifies what one seeks in a symposium 
volume, and makes this work an indispensable read for American 
archaeologists . . . Highly recommended."—CHOICE, Fall 2007