<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> <P> The settlement of the Americas is of intense interest to archaeologists and anthropologists . Modern biochemical techniques, as well as the accumulation of archaeological and geological evidence, have shed progressively more light on the subject; however, significant questions remain unresolved . </P>

Which continent was the last one to be settled by humans starting around 12 000 years ago