1/ Who were the first Americans? Did they come by land or sea? @andersen went on an expedition to California’s Channel Islands to find out what archaeology can tell us about humanity’s primeval ancestors. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
2/ The genomes of living Native Americans suggest that their ancestors first traveled from the polar cold of northeastern Eurasia to North America more than 15,000 years ago. This feat of exploration surely ranks among humanity’s greatest, Andersen writes—but who achieved it?
3/ Big-game-killing spear tips—the oldest known is more than 13,000 years old—offer some clues. The “Clovis-first” theory suggests that thousands of years ago, ice sheets rolled back, opening a new corridor east of the Rockies—and humans raced down to the North American interior.
4/ But there’s another theory: The first Americans may not have been big-game hunters, but skilled mariners. They might have traveled along the west coast of North America on small watercraft—eating otters, shellfish, and strips of campfire-dried seaweed along the way.
5/ There’s some evidence for the coastal theory: Archaeologists found a cave site in Oregon containing 14,300-year-old human feces; another site, in Idaho, had hearthstones more than 15,000 years old. At that time, the Pacific Northwest was likely inaccessible by an inland route.
6/ In the water near Santa Cruz Island, archaeologists are now searching for evidence of human habitation. If definitive evidence of a pre-Clovis settlement is found beneath the waves, it might tell us, once and for all, that the first Americans were people of the sea.
7/ Read @andersen’s full story about “America’s Atlantis” here: theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
8/8 Subscribe to the Atlantic Daily for more stories from our October issue:
theatlantic.com/newsletters/si…

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More from @TheAtlantic

16 Sep
1/5 New technologies are making it easy for historical Black images to be manipulated—and raising questions about who owns the Black body, Latria Graham writes. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
2/5 One example: MyHeritage, an online genealogy platform that uses an artificial-intelligence software called Deep Nostalgia. The site’s users can upload photos of long-deceased relatives to the website, which animates their ancestors with motions such as smiles and head turns.
3/5 “The site tells users that the software ‘is intended for nostalgic use, that is, to bring beloved ancestors back to life,’ and warns that it is not built for more nefarious purposes, such as creating ‘deep fakes’ of living people,” Graham reports.
Read 5 tweets
14 Sep
1/5 Since January, @emmaogreen has been interviewing newsmakers, scholars, and everyday people about some of the most challenging questions facing the country. Today, we’re giving a name to these conversations: “The Atlantic Interview.” theatlantic.com/projects/atlan…
2/5 Emma talked with John Seago, the legislative director of Texas Right to Life, who shepherded Texas’s new abortion law, about what it would mean for the country if the procedure was completely illegal: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
3/5 A month after the Capitol insurrection, Emma spoke with Eric Metaxas, a staunch Donald Trump defender, Christian writer, and radio host, about why he had come to believe that he was righteous for questioning the 2020 election: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Read 5 tweets
13 Sep
1/10 It was once a struggle to get Black characters on TV. Yet even today, as streaming services advertise “Black Lives Matter” and “Representation Matters” collections, Black screenwriters often navigate a set of implicit rules. @hannahgiorgis reports: on.theatln.tc/NdmL2GF
2/10 In the 1950s and ’60s, Sammy Davis Jr. and Nat King Cole headlined variety shows. Yet it wasn’t until 1972, when @TheNormanLear and Bud Yorkin launched “Sanford and Son,” that networks tried something more daring, with a show regularly addressing racism.
3/10 “‘Sanford and Son’ and ‘The Jeffersons’ proved that series with predominantly Black casts could be hits,” Giorgis writes. “Yet white executives continued to view Black shows as too much of a gamble.”
Read 10 tweets
11 Sep
1/10 Bobby McIlvaine died when the Twin Towers fell—before his life truly began. His father dove into his grief. His mother pushed hers away. Twenty years later, it’s changed them both.

@JenSeniorNY on a family’s search for meaning after 9/11:
theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
2/10 For Helen McIlvaine, nothing in this world has rivaled the experience of raising her two boys. “A few years down the road, I looked like I’d healed. And it wasn’t true.” At age 60, Helen took up running, not only because it felt good, but also because it allowed her to cry.
3/10 Bob McIlvaine Sr. knows little about his son’s final moments but is committed to exposing what he believes to be the truth about the 9/11 attacks, which is that they were an inside job. “Everything I’ve done in my life is based upon those seconds,” he says.
Read 10 tweets
24 Aug
1/9 Many U.S. allies remain trapped in Afghanistan—today, the Taliban said it would prevent citizens from leaving. Those who’ve managed to escape have not had an easy journey. George Packer describes the logistical—and lethal—challenges these Afghans face: theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
2/9 Khan, an interpreter for U.S. forces since 2015, worked desperately to leave Afghanistan with his pregnant wife and young son. For years, the family waited for approval of their Special Immigrant Visa, which came just as the Afghan government began to fall to the Taliban.
3/9 Before the U.S. withdrawal began, Khan was wary of how the Taliban would respond to the departure of American troops. They “will walk with their weapons to the bazaar,” he told Packer in March, “they will search people’s houses night and day.” theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
Read 9 tweets
16 Aug
1/7 As a photojournalist covering Afghanistan for two decades, @lynseyaddario has seen how hard the country’s women have fought for their freedom, and how much they have gained. on.theatln.tc/lkEz7sv
2/7 Under the Taliban, women (except for select, approved female doctors) were not allowed to work outside the home or even leave the house without a male guardian. These four once-employed Afghan women, photographed in May 2000, were relegated to a life at home.
3/7 When the Taliban fell in late 2001, “women quickly proved themselves invaluable to the work of rebuilding and running the country,” @lynseyaddario writes—even though conservative values persisted in Afghan society.
Read 7 tweets

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