<P> The continents of North and South America was settled by natives from Asia between 10 and 20 thousand years ago after they crossed a land bridge that was created between far northeastern Siberia and Alaska by the lowering of sea level during the last ice age . Available scientific evidence indicates that modern humans emerged from Africa over 100,000 years ago , yet did not arrive in the Americas until less than 20,000 years ago . Current understanding of the settlement of the Americas derives from advances in four interrelated disciplines : archaeology , Pleistocene geology , physical anthropology , and DNA analysis . While there is general agreement that the Americas were first settled from Asia , the pattern of migration , its timing , and the place ( s ) of origin in Asia of the peoples who migrated to the Americas remain unclear . In the 2000s , researchers sought to use familiar tools to validate or reject established theories , such as Clovis first . The archeological evidence suggests that the Paleo - Indians ' first dispersal into the Americas occurred near the end of the last glacial period or , more specifically , what is known as the Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM ) , around 16,500 -- 13,000 years ago . </P>
which continent was the last one to be settled by humans starting around 12 000 years ago
North and South America