Abstract The presence of well-documented sites in the Americas predating and south of the opening of an ice-free corridor in the North American ice sheets lends credence to a Pacific coastal migration theory (CMT) explaining the route for the initial peopling of the Americas. This theory has been informally discussed for more than 50 years, but until recently, has been largely ignored and never properly defined as a result. We provide a formal definition of the CMT which, briefly stated, is that Upper Paleolithic populations moved from Asia to coastal regions along the northwestern Pacific Rim between ∼45–30 ka. By ∼30 ka these coastal populations developed a mixed maritime, nearshore, and terrestrial adaptation involving the use of boats, shell fishhooks for deep-water fishing, and a stemmed point and macroblade core technology. About 25–24 ka a subset of these coastal populations became isolated somewhere in the vicinity of the Japan/Paleo-Hokkaido, Sahkalin, Kuril (PSHK) region, developing genetically into the ancient Native American (ANA) populations that eventually settled the Americas. Between ∼22–16 ka these ANA people began migrating by foot and boat along the southern Beringian coast and down the Alaskan and Canadian coastline into the Americas south of the continental ice sheets before eventually expanding inland. We develop a series of testable hypotheses through which the CMT can be examined.

中文翻译：

---

沿海迁移理论：公式化和可检验的假设

摘要 在北美冰盖无冰走廊开放之前和南部，美洲存在有充分记录的地点，这为太平洋沿岸迁移理论 (CMT) 提供了可信度，该理论解释了美洲最初人口的路线. 这个理论已经被非正式地讨论了 50 多年，但直到最近，它在很大程度上被忽视，因此从未被正确定义。我们提供了 CMT 的正式定义，简而言之，旧石器时代晚期人口在 45-30 ka 之间从亚洲沿西北太平洋沿岸迁移到沿海地区。到 30 ka 时，这些沿海种群发展出海洋、近岸和陆地的混合适应性，包括使用船只、用于深水捕鱼的贝壳鱼钩以及茎尖和大型刀片核心技术。大约 25-24 ka，这些沿海种群的一个子集在日本/古北海道、萨卡林、千岛 (PSHK) 地区附近的某个地方孤立，在遗传上发展成为最终定居美洲的古代美洲原住民 (ANA) 种群。在大约 22-16 ka 之间，这些 ANA 人开始沿着白令南部海岸步行和乘船迁移，沿着阿拉斯加和加拿大海岸线进入大陆冰盖以南的美洲，然后最终向内陆扩张。我们开发了一系列可检验的假设，通过这些假设可以检查 CMT。在大约 22-16 ka 之间，这些 ANA 人开始沿着白令南部海岸步行和乘船迁移，沿着阿拉斯加和加拿大海岸线进入大陆冰盖以南的美洲，然后最终向内陆扩张。我们开发了一系列可检验的假设，通过这些假设可以检查 CMT。在大约 22-16 ka 之间，这些 ANA 人开始沿着白令南部海岸步行和乘船迁移，沿着阿拉斯加和加拿大海岸线进入大陆冰盖以南的美洲，然后最终向内陆扩张。我们开发了一系列可检验的假设，通过这些假设可以检查 CMT。