When many scholars are asked about early human settlement in the Americas, they might point to a handful of archaeological sites as evidence. Yet the process was not a simple one, and today there is no consistent argument favoring a particular scenario for the peopling of the New World. This book approaches the human settlement of the Americas from a biogeographical perspective in order to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms and consequences of this unique event. It considers many of the questions that continue to surround the peopling of the Western Hemisphere, focusing not on sites, dates, and artifacts but rather on theories and models that attempt to explain how the colonization occurred. Unlike other studies, this book draws on a wide range of disciplines—archaeology, human genetics and osteology, linguistics, ethnology, and ecology—to present the big picture of this migration. Its wide-ranging content considers who the Pleistocene settlers were and where they came from, their likely routes of migration, and the ecological role of these pioneers and the consequences of colonization. Comprehensive in both geographic and topical coverage, the contributions include an explanation of how the first inhabitants could have spread across North America within several centuries, the most comprehensive review of new mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome data relating to the colonization, and a critique of recent linguistic theories. Although the authors lean toward a conservative rather than an extreme chronology, this volume goes beyond the simplistic emphasis on dating that has dominated the debate so far to a concern with late Pleistocene forager adaptations and how foragers may have coped with a wide range of environmental and ecological factors. It offers researchers in this exciting field the most complete summary of current knowledge and provides non-specialists and general readers with new answers to the questions surrounding the origins of the first Americans.

Geography and Geographers continues to be the most comprehensive and up-to-date overview of human geography available. It provides a survey of the major debates, key thinkers and schools of thought in the English-speaking world, setting them within the context of economic, social, cultural, political and intellectual changes. It is essential reading for all undergraduate geography students. It draws on a wide reading of the geographical literature and addresses the ways geography and its history are understood and the debates among geographers regarding what the discipline should study and how. This extensively updated seventh edition offers a thoroughly contemporary perspective on human geography for new and more experienced students alike.

As political, economic, and environmental issues increasingly spread across the globe, the science of geography is being rediscovered by scientists, policymakers, and educators alike. Geography has been made a core subject in U.S. schools, and scientists from a variety of disciplines are using analytical tools originally developed by geographers. Rediscovering Geography presents a broad overview of geography's renewed importance in a changing world. Through discussions and highlighted case studies, this book illustrates geography's impact on international trade, environmental change, population growth, information infrastructure, the condition of cities, the spread of AIDS, and much more. The committee examines some of the more significant tools for data collection, storage, analysis, and display, with examples of major contributions made by geographers. Rediscovering Geography provides a blueprint for the future of the discipline, recommending how to strengthen its intellectual and institutional foundation and meet the demand for geographic expertise among professionals and the public.

This book explores the geography of North America, using engaging examples to understand the cultures of Canada, the U.S., and Greenland.Helps readers understand the physical geography and environmental constraints and opportunities that underlie human settlement in comparative regions of North America. Conveys a sense of place, focusing on the richness of North American cultures, peoples, and places throughout with discussions of topics such as pop culture, music, foods, sports, and other topics of interest to help define and explain each region. Offers a superior, reader-friendly cartography program. For anyone interested in learning more about Canada, the U.S., and Greenland.