Final answer:
The migration to Australia and the Pacific Islands is supported by archaeological evidence from sites predating the North American Clovis sites. The coastal migration theory and evidence of sea travel could significantly impact our understanding of these migrations. Both theories of overland and by boat migrations are now accepted, and linguistic diversity supports the combination of these theories.
Step-by-step explanation:
Evidence for Human Migration to Australia and the Pacific Islands
There is considerable evidence supporting human migration to Australia and the Pacific Islands. Archaeological sites like Monte Verde in Chile and Taima-Taima in western Venezuela provide compelling evidence for the coastal migration theory, indicating that people may have traveled via the coast, moving down from the Bering Land Bridge all the way to South America. These sites predate the North American Clovis sites, suggesting a much earlier human presence in the Americas.
If 15,000-year-old rafts and canoes were to be found along the Pacific coast, this would strongly support the hypothesis of coastal travel and significantly alter our understanding of early migration, potentially confirming sea travel as a means by which humans spread throughout the Americas. Most historians and archaeologists now accept that both overland and by boat theories are correct. The linguistic diversity observed among indigenous coastal and interior languages also supports this multi-faceted migration.
The debate over the peopling of the Americas arises from the varying interpretations of evidence and the need for further discoveries to confirm the migratory patterns entirely. With sea levels rising after peak glaciation, many potential sites of early human activity are now submerged, leaving gaps in our historical understanding that are slowly being pieced together through ongoing research.