Paleoindian America c. 11,000 BP

Beringia, a land and ice bridge linking Asia to North America was in existence from about 45,000-14,000 BCE. It is generally agreed that ancient humans reached the Americas by this route during this window. Until recently, it was believed that the arrival was late in the window, and that the original Paleoindian population was of the Clovis culture, named after their characteristic knapping style and arrowhead design, known from widely dispersed finds in North America. Later finds, in Paisley Caves in Oregon, and Buttermilk Creek in Texas would appear to pre-date the earliest Clovis finds. There have even been finds from Southern Chile apparently dating to 15,000 BCE, which would thoroughly upend the conventional dispersion timetable. By 12,000–13,000 years ago, Clovis culture was widespread, and the Paleoindians had begun to specialize in bison hunting on the Great Plains. Later cultures with different tooling techniques include Folsom and Dalton.