<P> There are nevertheless a number of contemporary hunter - gatherer peoples who, after contact with other societies, continue their ways of life with very little external influence or with modifications that perpetuate the viability of hunting and gathering in the 21st century . One such group is the Pila Nguru (Spinifex people) of Western Australia, whose habitat in the Great Victoria Desert has proved unsuitable for European agriculture (and even pastoralism). Another are the Sentinelese of the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, who live on North Sentinel Island and to date have maintained their independent existence, repelling attempts to engage with and contact them . The Savanna Pumé of Venezuela also live in an area that is inhospitable to large scale economic exploitation and maintain their subsistence based on hunting and gathering, as well as incorporating a small amount of manioc horticulture that supplements, but is not replacing, reliance on foraged foods . </P> <Dl> <Dd> See also: Paleo - Indians period (Canada) and History of Mesoamerica (Paleo - Indian) </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> See also: Paleo - Indians period (Canada) and History of Mesoamerica (Paleo - Indian) </Dd> <P> Evidence suggests big - game hunter gatherers crossed the Bering Strait from Asia (Eurasia) into North America over a land bridge (Beringia), that existed between 47,000--14,000 years ago . Around 18,500--15,500 years ago, these hunter - gatherers are believed to have followed herds of now - extinct Pleistocene megafauna along ice - free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets . Another route proposed is that, either on foot or using primitive boats, they migrated down the Pacific coast to South America . </P>

Hunter gatherer societies from the present to the past