SUNY Morrisville The First Americans Paper

Write a 1000-word paper discussing the first Americans. You should use the resources from the preparatory steps provided to describe and explain details of human migration to the New World. Be sure to describe the relationship between articles. You should also use the resources from your research to write about theories and examples of the human diaspora. You will find that the scholarly resources already provided for you in the following research steps will inform you about these issues.

Introduction to Anthropology, ANTH 101
Professor Reymers
Spring 2020
Due Friday April 3
Research Paper: The First Americans
ESSAY ASSIGNMENT PROMPT:
Write a 1000-word paper discussing the first Americans. You should use the resources
from the preparatory steps provided to describe and explain details of human migration to the New
World. Be sure to describe the relationship between articles. You should also use the resources
from your research to write about theories and examples of the human diaspora. You will find that
the scholarly resources already provided for you in the following research steps will inform you
about these issues.
A. PREPARATORY RESEARCH STEPS:
For this paper you will use three scholarly research sources. These represent scholarly journal and
periodical contributions which are the type of sources that you will be required to use in all collegelevel research papers. Check the box  next to each step below as you complete them.
□ A1. First, get the three articles about the first Americans from Blackboard or the course website. These
articles can be used to compare what was known in the year 2000 and what is now known (2014, 2015), as
reported in the periodicals National Geographic, Smithsonian, and Discover. Print the papers double-sided
(only if necessary – if you have a computer or tablet/phone, you should get an annotation app such as
iAnnotate, GoodReader, Evernote, etc.), and as you read the articles, annotate them — underline important
themes and make notes in the margin and/or in a notebook you have with you. In your paper, you should
use your annotated information to discuss theories and evidence regarding what is known of the first
Americans.
□ A2. Second, use the online Morrisville library search tool (http://library.morrisville.edu) to find more
scholarly sources of information about the first Americans. Type “first Americans anthropology” into the
first search box. Then click “Search”. Review the results and be sure the articles you choose for the next
step are about the original migrants to North America, not recent Americans.
Choose TWO MORE UNIQUE ARTICLES using the method of acquisition described above. (Be
sure they are not the same articles as the ones provided on the course website.) Print the articles doublesided (only if necessary), and as you read them, underline important themes and make notes in the margin
or in a notebook. In your paper, you should use the information you find to discuss and compare theories
and evidence regarding the first Americans.
B. WRITING STEPS:
□ B1. Write an outline showing how you are going to organize your essay (the question presupposes some
type of organization). On the outline and following drafts (including the final draft), title your paper
“Continental Flow: The First People to the Americas.” DO NOT include a heading other than this title.
□ B2. This paper should have a thesis that our knowledge of the first Americans has changed dramatically
in the last two decades. Specific evidence for this should be discussed in the paper and examples can be
taken from the articles provided on the website and the articles you obtained in your research. Integrate,
compare, and contrast in your outline each of the sources you found above. Note in your outline where your
sources would be appropriate to reference with a quotation from the source or a paraphrase. Be prepared to
properly cite all evidence you use from your research sources.
□ B3. Write a rough draft of your paper. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar yet – just be sure that
what you are writing makes some kind of sense (that it is logically consistent and scientifically rigorous, as
well as properly cited, and fulfills the requirements above). Be sure to BACK UP YOUR WORK AT THIS
POINT AT EVERY FOLLOWING STEP. You will not be given an extension if you lose your work due
to a computer failure.
□ B4. Collect all of the citations made throughout the paper and make a References page. APA citation
style format should be used for citation writing in the text of your paper (body citation) and for the
References page. Other APA style formatting (abstract, running head, etc.) is optional. Here is an example
of APA citation style (there are more examples on the course website “Research” page):
In-text (body) citation: If you directly quote the author of an article you found online titled
“Clocking the First Americans” from the periodical Annual Review of Anthropology written by
D.J. Meltzer published in 1995 to emphasize the idea from the article that “The antiquity of the
first Americans is one of the most controversial issues in American archaeology” (Meltzer
1995), you should cite the source right there in parentheses after the quote, noting the last name of
the author of the article (D.J. Meltzer) and then noting that the article was published in 1995. If you
put the idea into your own words, you don’t need the quotation marks, but you still should cite the
source. That is all the citation you need in the body of the paper. Every citation source you mention
in the paper should also be listed on the References page.
Reference page citation: Now, you must make sure that on your References page you have a
complete APA style citation to Meltzer’s article from Annual Review of Anthropology. Here’s an
example of what it should look like:
Meltzer, D. J. (1995). CLOCKING THE FIRST AMERICANS. Annual Review Of Anthropology, 24(1), 2145. Retrieved on Feb 1, 2020, from Academic Search Complete database.
You can get this citation information from the library database page from which you retrieve the
article (look near the bottom of the page for the link titled “Citation”, then choose “APA”).
Alphabetize your list of references. Also, note the “hanging indent” of the second line (this feature is
available in MS Word, under the “Paragraph” menu). The hanging indent allows for author’s
names to be easily seen on the left margin of References page.
Important note: If you put information in your paper that is identifiable as an outside source and
you do NOT cite the source, you will be charged with a plagiarism offense and reported. See the
course syllabus for a complete definition of plagiarism and the penalties for reported offenses.
□ B5. Finalize your draft by reading the paper aloud to yourself, and proofread it for grammar and
spelling errors. Check over all citations one last time. Put your NAME, CLASS, and DATE on the
REFERENCES PAGE only of the paper (this avoids any potential grading bias when I review your
paper). The paper should be at least 1000 words, double-spaced, 1” margins, 10-12 point font. No cover
page, appendix, table of contents, illustrations or other ephemera should be included. Don’t forget to
include your References page as the last page of your paper.
SEND ME ONLY YOUR FINAL VERSION AS A PDF FILE (in MS Word, choose “Save As…” then
under the area where you choose a name for the file, click the “Save as Type” box and change it to
“PDF”). Send me the resulting file as an email attachment. Send in PDF format to
reymers@morrisville.edu, with the subject line ANTHRP.
DUE FRI APRIL 3