Ron Baird, news editor
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Asian migrants stuck on land bridge for milleniums
Feb 27th
likely a long-term refuge for early Americans
A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder bolsters the theory that the first Americans, who are believed to have come over from northeast Asia during the last ice age, may have been isolated on the Bering Land Bridge for thousands of years before spreading throughout the Americas.
The theory, now known as the “Beringia Standstill,” was first proposed in 1997 by two Latin American geneticists and refined in 2007 by a team led by the University of Tartu in Estonia that sampled mitrochondrial DNA from more than 600 Native Americans. The researchers found that mutations in the DNA indicated a group of their direct ancestors from Siberia was likely isolated for at least several thousand years in the region of the Bering Land Bridge, the now-submerged plain that lies between northeast Asia and Alaska once exposed by a significantly lower sea level.
CU-Boulder researcher John Hoffecker, lead author of a short paper article appearing in the Feb. 28 issue of Science magazine, said the Beringia Standstill model gained little traction outside of the genetics community after it was proposed and has been seen by some scientists outside of the field as far-fetched. But the new paper by Hoffecker and co-authors Scott Elias of Royal Holloway, University of London, and Dennis O’Rourke of the University of Utah adds credence to the Beringia Standstill idea by further linking the genetics to the paleoecological evidence.
“A number of supporting pieces have fallen in place during the last decade, including new evidence that central Beringia supported a shrub tundra region with some trees during the last glacial maximum and was characterized by surprisingly mild temperatures, given the high latitude,” said Hoffecker of CU-Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. The last glacial maximum peaked roughly 21,000 years ago and was marked by the growth of vast ice sheets in North America and Europe.
While a debate rages on about when early humans first migrated into the New World, many archaeologists now believe it was sometime around 15,000 years ago after retreating glaciers opened access to coastal and interior routes into North America.
The relatively mild summer climate in Beringia at the time was caused by North Pacific circulation patterns that brought moist and relatively warm air to the region during the last glacial maximum. Geologists believe the Beringia gateway between Siberia and Alaska was more than 600 miles wide at the time.
Hoffecker and others are now theorizing that a population of hundreds or thousands of people parked itself in central Beringia for 5,000 years or more. One key to the extended occupation may have been the presence of wood in some places to use as a fuel to supplement bone, which burns hot and fast. Experiments have shown that at least some wood is necessary to make bone practical as a fuel.
Elias, a paleoecologist and also an INSTAAR affiliate, said research using fossil pollen, plant and insect material from sediment cores from the now submerged landscape show that the Bering Land Bridge tundra environment contained enough woody plants and trees like birch, willow and alder to provide a supplement to bone.
Work by Elias and others included the analysis of certain beetle species that live in very specific temperature zones, allowing them to be used as tiny thermometers. The insects indicated that temperatures there were relatively mild during last glacial maximum that ran from about 27,000 years to 20,000 years ago, only slightly cooler than temperatures in the region today.
“The climate on the land bridge and adjacent parts of Siberia and Alaska was a bit wetter than the interior regions like central Alaska and the Yukon, but not a lot warmer,” said Elias. “Our data show that woody shrubs were available on the land bridge, which would have facilitated the making of fires by the people there.”
Evidence from the 2007 study indicated a set of genetic mutations in mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down from mother to offspring, clearly accumulated after the divergence of people from their Asian parent groups in Siberia but before their dispersal throughout the Western Hemisphere, said O’Rourke. In addition, ancient DNA from human skeletal remains found at a 24,000-year-old archaeological site in southern Siberia also appears consistent with the divergence of Native American groups from their Asian forbearers by that time window, he said.
“The genetic record has been very clear for several years that the Native American genome must have arisen in an isolated population at least by 25,000 years ago, and the bulk of the migrants to the Americas really didn’t arrive south of the ice sheets until nearly 15,000 years ago,” O’Rourke said. “The paleoecological data, which I think most geneticists have not been familiar with, indicate that Beringia was not a uniform environment, and there was a shrub tundra region, or refugium, that likely provided habitats conducive to continuous human habitation.”
“From my view the genetics and paleoecology data come together nicely,” said Hoffecker, who co-authored a 2007 book with Elias titled “The Human Ecology of Beringia.” While the weakest link to the Out of Beringia theory is the lack of archaeological evidence, Hoffecker believes future research on now submerged parts of Beringia as well as lowlands in western Alaska and eastern Siberia that still remain above water may hold clues to ancient habitation by Beringia residents, who eventually moved on to be the first group to inhabit the Americas.
Hoffecker also believes that the Beringia inhabitants during the last glacial maximum could have made successful hunting forays into the uninhabited steppe-tundra region to both the east and west, where drier conditions and more grass supported a plentiful array of large grazing animals, including steppe bison, horse and mammoth.
There is now solid evidence for humans in Beringia before the last glacial maximum, as geneticists first predicted in 1997, said Hoffecker. After the maximum, there are two sets of archaeological remains dating to less than 15,000 years ago. “One represents a late migration from Asia into Alaska at that time,” he said. “The other has no obvious source outside Beringia and may represent the people who are thought to have sheltered on the land bridge during the glacial maximum.
“If we are looking for a place to put all of these people during the last glacial maximum, Beringia may be the only realistic option,” said Hoffecker.
A video news story on the research is available at http://www.colorado.edu/news.
-CU-
CU tennis: Ranked opponents go down; Buffs rise
Feb 25th
Coming off back-to-back victories over ranked opponents, the University of Colorado women’s tennis team finds itself as the No. 54 ranked squad in the nation, announced Monday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Of the 75 schools ranked in the weekly poll, only Ohio State made a bigger debut in the rankings as the Buckeyes went unranked a week ago to No. 52 Monday afternoon. OSU upset then-No. 27 Tennessee, 4-3 last week in Columbus.
The Buffaloes (6-3) winners of three-straight matches upset then-No. 54 Wichita State, 4-2 on Sunday, and last Friday, defeated in-state rival and then-No. 57 Denver, 4-3. The pair of wins over ranked opponents is the first time a head coach Nicole Kenneally-team has knocked off ranked foes consecutively since 2010. CU defeated No. 63 Utah in a match played at Berkeley, Calif., and No. 65 BYU, a week later at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center. Both scores were 4-3.
It’s also the first time the Buffaloes defeated ranked opponents at home since 2007 knocking off No. 12 William & Mary and No. 43 Oklahoma State, both by 4-3 tallies. Of the 11 schools in the Pac-12 that sponsor women’s tennis, only Oregon is not ranked this week. CU at No. 54, joins UCLA (No. 2), Stanford (No. 4), USC (No. 6), Cal (No. 14), Washington (No. 24), Arizona State (No. 29), Utah (No. 44), Washington State (No. 51), and Arizona (No. 60). Last April, CU spent two matches as the No. 75 ranked team after upsetting No. 59 Oregon at the South Campus Courts. Prior to last April, the Buffs were nationally ranked in April 2010 as No. 68 when they were a member of the Big 12 Conference.
That season, CU was ranked as high as No. 51. CU takes to the road for four consecutive matches traveling to New Mexico this Friday (Feb. 28), then taking on Ball State (Mar. 2) in a match played in Albuquerque. CU opens Pac-12 Conference play at Washington State (Mar. 7) and at Oregon (Mar. 9). The conference home opener is March 14 against USC and UCLA on March 16. Both home matches are to be played at the South Campus Courts, weather permitting. -COLORADO-
Andrew Green | Assistant Director Sports Information Department of Intercollegiate Athletics | University of Colorado Boulder | 357 UCB | Fieldhouse Annex 50
CU: Shakespeare on the road in anti-violence drive
Feb 25th
third anti-violence school tour
Following on the heels of its nationally recognized anti-violence school tours based on “The Tempest” and “Twelfth Night,” the Colorado Shakespeare Festival has hit the road with a new production of “Much Ado About Nothing.”
The highly praised program, co-created with the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado Boulder, brings abridged productions of Shakespeare’s plays into schools to stimulate discussion about the “cycle of violence.” More than 38,000 Colorado schoolchildren have participated in the program, which was launched in 2011.
Professional actors perform the play and lead students in small-group exercises exploring issues raised, such as gossip and bullying. Actors receive training through the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence and, among other things, educate students about Safe2Tell, an anonymous tip line to report bullying.
The new production focuses on the potential damage caused by gossip and the power of language, said Amanda Giguere, director of outreach for the festival.
In the play, Beatrice and Benedick are “frenemies” known for their constant verbal sparring. Their friends play a prank on them by gossiping within earshot about their mutual affection. In the meantime, the villain Don John fabricates a nasty rumor about Hero’s infidelity, which results in her public humiliation on her wedding day.
“Gossip and rumors can quickly damage a reputation and can have a negative impact on a person’s self-esteem,” Giguere said. “This play explores the power of words. When does a ‘merry war’ turn hostile? When does teasing go too far? What kind of damage can rumors cause? It’s a perfect vehicle for engaging students with questions about the cycle of violence and the negative impact gossip can have on a school climate.”
Some 26 percent of high school students report that other students have told lies or spread rumors about them, according to Beverly Kingston, director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence.
“Every day, kids are faced with difficult issues like gossiping and spreading rumors,” she said. “This play brings these issues to life and empowers students to reflect on these topics and see how they can make better choices.”
Whether they are exploring rumor-mongering, bullying or other harmful behaviors, one key goal of the plays and workshops is to help students feel empowered.
“One of the best things schools can do is to promote a positive school climate where students feel physically and emotionally safe,” Kingston said. “School climate is continuously created in every single interaction. This play is a tangible action toward building a positive school climate.”
Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s anti-violence production of “Much Ado About Nothing” is available for booking. For more information email csfedout@colorado.edu, call 303-492-1973 or visit coloradoshakes.org/education/csf-schools.
The Colorado Shakespeare Festival is a professional theater company in association with CU-Boulder and has performed the works of Shakespeare every summer since 1958. The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence is part of CU-Boulder’s Institute of Behavioral Science. The anti-violence school tour is funded in part through grants from CU Outreach, the Boulder Arts Commission, the OAK (Outstanding Acts of Kindness) Foundation and One Lafayette.
The current tour began Feb. 11 and remaining tour dates include:
Feb. 25: St. Bernadette Catholic School and Mountain Phoenix Community School (Lakewood/Wheat Ridge)
Feb. 26: OLLI West and Denver Montclair International (Denver)
Feb. 27: Heatherwood Elementary (Gunbarrel)
Feb. 28: Brady High (Lakewood) and Jefferson Academy Elementary (Broomfield)
March 4: Ouray School
March 5: Ridgway Schools
March 7: Cherokee Trail High (Aurora) and CU-Boulder
March 14: Boulder Country Day
March 18: Endeavor Academy (Centennial)
March 20: Lincoln Academy Charter (Arvada)
March 21: McGlone Elementary (Denver)
April 1: Estes Park Schools
April 2: Louisville Middle School
April 3: Stein Elementary (Lakewood)
April 4: Estes Park Schools
April 8: Colfax Elementary (Denver) and East Elementary (Littleton)
April 9: Niwot Elementary
April 10: Bromwell Elementary and Columbian Elementary (Denver)
April 11: Rocky Mountain Elementary (Longmont) and Longmont Estates Elementary (Longmont)
-CU-