Paleo-Indian

Member of a Palaeolithic North American people whose descendants are the American Indians. The Paleo-Indians are thought to have migrated in waves from Siberia to Alaska across the Beringia land bridge, which was above sea level during the last ice age 20,000-30,000 years ago; it is now the Bering Sea. Estimates for the first migration vary, but the oldest artefacts discovered date back to 10,000 BC. Primarily hunters using spears, they also gathered edible plants, such as roots and berries. They lived in caves or lean-tos, dressed in animal skins, and could make fire. Distinctive spearheads typify certain cultures, including Clovis, Sandia, Folsom, and Plano.

Many of the animals hunted by the Paleo-Indians, including woolly mammoths, giant long-horned bison, and sabre-toothed tigers, are now extinct. Apart from spears, Folsom Paleo-Indians also used an atlatl, a device that propelled the spear faster and harder toward its target. Some groups killed herds by driving them over cliffs or corralling them.