Over the Land Bridge

1. Over the Land Bridge Textbook pg. 47 Wb. 50

2. The First Tennesseans • Scientists do not know for sure how the first people came to Tennessee. • One idea is that Asia and North America were once connected. • Scientists formed the land bridge theory to explain how early native peoples arrived in North America.

3. Theory – Land Bridge • Scientists believe that large sheets of ice covered much of the Earth. • Water levels in the oceans would have dropped as ice formed. • This could have caused a large strip of land, or a land bridge, to appear.

6. Bering Land BridgeFact or Theory • Fact – Something known to exist or to have happened • Theory – a possible explanation for something

7. Migration - movement of people • Many scientists believe that nomads crossed the land bridge searching for food. • Nomads followed the mammoth - a giant hairy elephant. • They ate the meat and used the fur, skins, and bones, to make clothing, shelters, and tools.

8. Land Bridge Disagreements • Not all scientists agree with the land bridge theory. • Some think that native people may have traveled by boat along the coast of Asia and North America. • Most scientists do not believe the boat theory is possible.

9. What Happened to the Land Bridge? • As the climate became warmer, the ice began to melt. • When the ice melted, ocean levels began to rise causing water to cover the land bridge. • This stopped the migration of people from Asia to North America.