First South Americans: The Peopling of a Continent from the Earliest Evidence to High Culture

The popular notion that the Americas were first populated by big-game hunters crossing the Bering land bridge then making their way slowly southward may be challenged by recent findings at Monte Verde in southern Chile. Evidence there presents the strong possibility that people were living in South America more than 12,000 years ago. Other South American sites may eventually be dated to 33,000 BP or earlier.

In The First South Americans, Danièle Lavallée presents all current evidence and c…