When European settlers arrived in America, it was already populated. There is a great discussion about the way in which man managed to reach the continent, considering that there was no connection with another continent through emerged lands.
Currently, there are two theories that try to explain the arrival of man on the American continent: the transoceanic theory and the Bering theory. According to the transoceanic theory, about 10 thousand years ago the men who inhabited Polynesia (in the Oceania region) moved towards South America in small boats. These would have moved through the sea currents that carried them.
According to Bering's theory, man would have arrived in America through the Bering Strait, located between the extreme east of the Asian continent and the extreme west of the American continent, the two points are separated by 85 km. According to this theory, the arrival of man on the American continent took place approximately 50,000 years ago, when Asian nomads crossed the Bering Strait; which in this period was frozen due to the glacial era, thus forming a natural bridge between the two points. From there, man migrated to the southern part of the American continent. These are theories that have greater acceptance in the scientific community, but their claims are not sure.
By Eduardo de Freitas
Graduated in Geography
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/como-homem-chegou-america.htm