Who were the first people to settle the Americas?

• A. Farmers
• B. Hunter-gatherers
• C. Traders
• D. Explorers

Answer: (B)

The earliest people to settle the Americas were hunter-gatherers. When the last Ice Age lowered sea levels, people from northeastern Asia crossed into North America via the Bering land bridge and began living as mobile foragers. They followed migrating animals, fished, and gathered wild plants, moving gradually across the continents as climates and habitats changed. This pattern of nomadic foraging provided the initial populations and cultural spread that eventually populated both North and South America long before farming took hold in various regions.

Farming came later, as communities learned to domesticate crops like maize in parts of Mesoamerica and tubers in the Andes, leading to more permanent settlements and complex civilizations. Traders and explorers define later historical roles that emerged after initial settlement, so they don’t fit the description of who first settled the continents.