Archaeologists have developed several theories about the arrival of the First Peoples in America. Traditional Aboriginal knowledge also contributes to understanding how America was populated.
According to this information, the Earth was covered in ice from between 18,000 and 12,000 years ago. Groups of humans would then have been able to move from northeastern Asia across the Behring Strait to live in North America. Several animals, such as caribou, buffalo and muskox were already using the icy routes to go from one continent to another. The First Peoples hunted these animals to survive and followed them in their migrations.
Over time, some groups moved further south and inland, thus populating the entire territory of North America. Depending on where they settled (mountain, river, plain), they had to adapt their homes, their clothing, their food and their lifestyles, which created the great diversity of Aboriginal groups in America.