University of Colorado at Â鶹¹ÙÍø scientist Scott Elias will give a lecture at the CU Cortez Center March 12 on the ancient environments of the Bering Land Bridge and early human migrations into the New World.
The talk is the second in a series of monthly lectures at the CU Cortez Center by CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø faculty running from February through May. Co-sponsored by CU President John Buechner and the CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø Office of Community Relations, the free public talks are held at 7:30 p.m. at 25 N. Market St. in Cortez.
Elias, a fellow of CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, will discuss the timing of human migrations across the land bridge and the plants and animals those humans may have encountered. Elias has used fossil evidence from both ends of the land bridge and cores taken from the shallow seas abutting the ancient bridge to reconstruct the ecology of the region when the first nomads are thought to have wandered into North America.
A 1996 paper by Elias and his colleagues showed that the Bering Land Bridge was inundated with water later than previously believed. Although previous studies indicated the land bridge was flooded more than 14,000 years ago, the 1996 study by Elias showed people were free to move across the land bridge up until about 10,500 years ago.
Elias, who authored a book titled "Ice-Age History of Alaskan National Parks" in 1995, said fossil evidence suggests the temperatures 11,000 years ago on the Bering Land Bridge were warmer by about 8 degrees to 11 degrees F. At that time, the land bridge covered about 580,00 square miles -- an area about twice the size of Texas.
But an analysis of ancient plant life using sea-core evidence indicated the area was comprised primarily of tundra plants and shrubs rather than an arid grassland as was previously believed. This finding indicated the bridge was unsuitable for long-term habitation by large grazing animals.
Elias also will discuss new theories concerning the migration patterns of North America's first human inhabitants. There are some indications the earliest people on the continent may have used a type of boat to make their way down the West coasts of present-day Alaska and Canada, he said.
In addition, he will talk about the cultures of some of the earliest North Americans, including the Clovis people, and will provide the latest in scientific research regarding early Paleo-Indian sites in North America and South America.
A native of Pueblo, Colo., Elias received his bachelor's degree from CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø in 1976 and his doctorate in 1980. He is the author of 73 books, book chapters and refereed journal articles. His primary research interests are the paleoecological, paleoclimatic, zoogeographic and evolutionary implications of insect fossils over the past two million years.
Upcoming talks at the CU Cortez Center include a presentation by CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø planetary scientist Steve Lee on April 23 titled "New Views of Mars" and a reading by CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø staff member Paul Hindman from a book he co-authored with Nate Evans of Kansas City, Mo., titled "Dragon Bones."