Ancient DNA Charts Native Americans' Journeys to Asia Thousands of Years Ago | Science| Smithsonian Magazine
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Via: kavika • last year • 38 commentsBy: Brian Handwerk (Smithsonian Magazine)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Analysis of ten Eurasian individuals, up to 7,500 years old, gives a new picture of movement across continents
Brian Handwerk
Science Correspondent
January 12, 2023 A grave with bones that were analyzed Nadezhda F. Stepanova
Whether by walking a land bridge or traveling by boat, hunter-gatherers ventured out from eastern Eurasia some 20,000 to 30,000 years ago to become the first Americans. But the intercontinental journey wasn't a one-way trip. Several times in history, genetic studies show, Native Americans returned across the Bering Strait to Eurasia—long before Europeans began arriving in distant parts of the Americas.
Now, new genetic research is mapping out those ancient migrations back and forth across the Bering Strait and elsewhere across Eurasia during key periods of human prehistory. Scientists have recently recovered ancient DNA from the well-preserved bones and teeth of ten eastern Eurasian individuals, from 7,500 to 500 years old, and they published their findings on Thursday in Current Biology. The new evidence helps show that from the coasts of America and Japan to the Siberian interior, some of our deep ancestors' populations may have been more mobile and intermixed than anyone would have imagined.
Cosimo Posth, an archaeogenetics expert at the University of Tubingen, in Germany, and colleagues described the genomes of ten different individuals who lived in three key regions: Siberia's Altai Mountains, the Kamchatka Peninsula and other parts of the Russian Far East. Environmental conditions—cold climates at high latitudes—allowed for optimal preservation of DNA that was hundreds to thousands of years old. "In these environments you can find individuals with 70 to 80 percent of human DNA in their bones, comparable to what you'd get if you extracted saliva from you or me," says Posth. "You can actually generate a genome of the same quality as a modern genome. It's amazing stuff."
Analysis of the DNA from those ten individuals provided several key revelations about ancient migrations. First, the broad movements of ancient humans and cultures across Eurasia are evidenced by the discovery of an entirely new population that lived in Siberia's Altai Mountains. That culture's descendants, the authors show, were part of lineages that later helped populate both Europe and the Americas. Secondly, individuals of Japan's Jomon culture, isolated in the archipelago for thousands of years, migrated back to the Asian mainland from which their ancestors came. And finally, Native Americans migrated back into Asia several times over a span of thousands of years.
The remains of some of the study's oldest individuals, dated to some 7,500 years before present, are part of the previously unknown population of hunter-gatherers who lived in the Altai Mountains. Today this crossroads is a kind of Eurasian four corners where Russia, Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan border one another. Back in the early Holocene, at least 10,000 years ago, the Altai population lived in a region that was slowly warming. Posth's analysis shows that this group was a genetic mixture of two distinct groups who lived in different parts of Siberia during the last Ice Age: the Paleo-Siberians and the Ancient North Eurasians. The Paleo-Siberian population contributed to the first wave of humans to cross into the Americas, and many Native Americans today can trace parts of their ancestry to this group. The ancient North Eurasian lineage first appears in a 24,000-year-old Mal'ta individual from the Lake Baikal region and over time made significant genetic contributions to nearly all European populations, and to later North American migrations as well.
Siberia's Altai Mountains are the same region where the 2010 discovery of a fragmented finger bone turned out, after DNA analysis, to identify an entirely new species of close human relatives—the Denisovans. Their lineage, which existed from about 400,000 to about 30,000 years ago, has turned out to be a rather complicated one. In 2018, scientists learned that a 13-year-old girl, found in a mountain cave, was born to a Denisovan mother and a Neanderthal father, showing that different species not only crossed paths in the region but also interbred.
"This seems to also be a crucial region for us, for humans," Posth says. "It might be that this was a corridor and crossroads for populations to mix."
Posth was surprised by the scale of human migrations revealed by the diverse DNA. "I expected movement maybe from one valley to another, but here we're talking about large-scale movement and mobility among these groups across vast areas of North Asia." According to co-author Ke Wang, of China's Fudan University, one individual in Nizhnetytkesken Cave was found with burial goods like stone points, ornaments and animal claws that may indicate religious overtones and the possible practice of shamanism. That 6,500-year-old individual's genetic profile was different from his Altai region contemporaries and more akin to populations from the Russian Far East, suggesting he could have been from a genetically—and culturally—distant region.
These types of mixing migrations gave rise to the unique Altai population, and similar events can be traced in the genes of its descendants as well. For example, genetic evidence suggests this Altai hunter-gatherer population may be the source of the ancient North Eurasian ancestry uncovered in groups like the Tarim Basin mummies and the Bronze Age cultures of the Lake Baikal region of southern Russia.
The study also revealed connections between the remains of 7,000-year-old individuals from the Russian Far East and the islands of Japan. The remains had significant amounts of ancestry related to the Jomon, a population of hunter-gatherers from the Japanese archipelago
Genomic analysis suggests that the Jomon, makers of a unique pottery, lived in relative isolation from between 20,000 to 15,000 years ago until almost 3,000 years ago, when the traditional hunter-gathers mixed with a new influx of rice growers in the islands. But the new study reveals that some Jomon left the islands for the mainland before that mixing, crossing the sea prior to 7,000 years ago.
The findings also reveal ancient comings and goings across the Bering Strait. Scientists have already stated that groups in Asia made at least three major migrations into the Americas—roughly 20,000, 5,000 and 1,000 years ago. But those events represent only half of the story; growing genetic and archaeological evidence reveals that some populations made a round-trip journey. The new study identifies the timing of some back migrations, and it shows they were extensive enough that Native American lineages stretch away from the coast, reaching the Kamchatka Peninsula and central Siberia.
Posth and colleagues compared the genomes of three 500-year-old individuals in the Kamchatka Peninsula with people living there today. "The 500-year-old individuals have significant amounts of Native American ancestry," he says, "but those living in the same peninsula today have twice as much."
That result means that some Native Americans had returned to Eurasia before 500 years ago, probably about 5,000 years ago, according to estimates of when the genetic lineages converged in the ancient specimens. And they also reveal that Native American peoples migrated across the Bering Strait more recently. Scientists can't definitively say where those migrations originated; each of the Native American populations the group tested—the ancient Aleut, Athabaskan and Old Bering Sea lineages—could have worked as a proxy source for the genetic input.
Finding genetic evidence of Native Americans in Eurasia isn't surprising, notes David Meltzer, an anthropologist at Southern Methodist University not involved with the study. "When Beringia [the land bridge] drowned approximately 12,000 years ago, that only meant it was no longer possible to walk from Northeast Asia to America. Starting around 6000 years ago, maybe slightly earlier, groups using watercraft readily crossed the Bering Sea."
Previous genetic evidence found in both ancient remains and among contemporary Chukchi peoples of Siberia had already suggested that humans moved in both directions across the Bering Sea thousands of years ago. "What this new paper does," says Meltzer, "is give us a better sense of the number and possible timing of episodes of back migration."
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Brian Handwerk|READ MORE
Brian Handwerk is a science correspondent based in Amherst, New Hampshire.
Recommended Videos Filed Under: Archaeology, DNA, Genetics, Japan, Migration, Native Americans, Russia
Seems some of my ancestors did some extensive traveling. Back and forth to and from Siberia.
New discoveries keep changing the history, age and movement of Native Americans.
This map shows the ''four corners'' of Mongolia, Russia, China and Kazakhstan.
yikes, what a hike.
What is known as a tough road (path)
there's some scandinavians and italians that are going to be pissed off...
LOL, I'm sure there is.
f'em...
DNA analysis has given us a great tool to study human migrations around the globe.
Indeed it has and along with LiDAR radar the discoveries are fast and ferious.
I keep looking for and and waiting on the tracking of the migrants to South America over 20++ thousand years ago. Those same migrant families who then trapsed north into Central America and the contigunous U.S. There have been, as you've posted before, findings of skeletal remains that are up to and including 40,000 years of age.
Bering Straits or sea wanderers from down under?
Or the could have traveled the ''kelp highway'' from what is now Alaska to Cali and perhaps much further south into central and South America.
You have right there in NM the footprints that they discovered a few months back that are dated between 21 and 23,000 years ago.
How great was the influence of Pacific Islanders on the America's during these migrations. I'm fascinated by this stuff
How the Voyage of the Kon-Tiki Misled the World About Navigating the Pacific | At the Smithsonian| Smithsonian Magazine
I'm fascinated with it as well and post quite a few articles on different discoveries. The Kon Tiki did prove that you can travel from SA to Polynesia which was against the thinking at the time. In fact, there are some fascinating discoveries of Native American DNA on Easter Island if I remember correctly 11% of Easter Islanders have Native American DNA.
I was in Samoa when a group of Samoans and scientists sailed from Samoa to Hawaii using an outrigger that they have built as if was 1700. They used their skills of ''reading the waves'' and the stars to land within 1/4 mile of their intended destination. That is a journey of 2500 miles..
Here is a link to an article I posted a few days ago about a discovery in the US/Kansas.
The link you posted is excellent. The article clearly rebuts the theory that Polynesian was populated by drift voyaging originating from South America. While it is certainly possible that some drift voyagers from South America may have reached Easter Island, all the evidence shows that Polynesia was populated by intentional voyaging, originally from east to west.
That is true, but how does that explain the Native American DNA on Easter Island, G?
At some point in time be they Polynesians or Native Americans they had to move from South American east to Easter Island.
Native American DNA on Easter Island can be explained by at least two or three possible scenarios that I can imagine.
1) There were Native Americans from South America that voyaged to Easter Island. As I said, that is possible.
2) Polynesian voyagers ventured to South America and Native Americans accompanied them on the return voyage, or even co-mingled with Native Americans and returned with mates and offsprings.
Both are possible either way they had to move on a drift voyage.
Now, click on the link in comment 5
Why do you think that either scenario had to be drift voyaging since the Polynesians were such exceptional navigators and intentional voyagers?
The link at Comment 5 is truly amazing. Thanks for that..
With NA DNA showing up in Rapa Nui if the Polynesians did land on the coast of SA then they would have had to follow the route of Thor and Kon Tiki which was to drift back to Rapa Nui.
If Native Americans sailed to Rapa Nui they to would have had to follow the drift method.
my peruvian DIL's family have polynesian DNA.
Wow, there we go and do they have indigenous DNA? A large part of Peru over 50% have indigenous blood/DNA
An interesting article. Made me start to wonder if there is a connection with the Australian indigenous peoples(Australian Aboriginals), reputedly having migrated from Asia, some 30,000 years ago, via a a land bridge from Asia to northern Australia.
The discovery of Mungo Man dates Aboriginals to 42,000 years ago in Australia, Waykwabu.
There is a theory that they did come to Northern Australia from SE Asia. It's quite fascinating since if I remember correctly the are the oldest humans on earth.
This is a link to an article that discusses the evidence that the Aboriginal Australians are the oldest civilization on Earth.
Very interesting - I can't recollect reading of their history going back 60,000 years. Here in Australia the average layman would generally acknowledge a history of 30-35k. I have visited the site of Mungo Man (known as Lake Mungo), but cannot remember what age was attributed to them. I have unfortunately mislaid the literature I had on the subject.
Very interesting stuff, thanks Kav
Happy that you enjoyed it, Freefaller.
This is fascinating, tracing a Native American's DNA back 17,000 years with a shocking discovery as to where his ancestors came from.
That is just incredible. Now I am going to have to do some serious research into the origins of the Blackfeet.
His DNA link his heritage to both Polynesia and the original line of the 4 mothers of Native Americans in AZ.
It is truly amazing and must have the anthropology world in a tizzy.
Great article Kavika. I just love this stuff.
This also explains a lot about why the tribes look so different from one side of the country to the other. These various migrations back and forth must have done some serious mixing of the gene pool.
This painting "Faces of Native American Tribes 01" by Gull G shows how different we all look. This is probably a big clue why.
Definitely, there is a huge difference in the physical features from area to area and the tribes of Alaska are another groups that is quite different in appearance. South and Central Indigenous are different again.
All that stuff I learned in school just went out the window. Thanks for posting these types of articles, Kav. I'm definitely learning things
You're welcome, Trout. I find this really fascinating.
The coolest part of science is the constant testing and updating when new information is presented. In the past new information in historical sciences hasn't aways been accepted, but that has changed with modern technologies like DNA mapping and new forms of imaging. Scientists can cast bones in plaster to preserve them, move them to a lab and get cat-scans, xrays and dna testing.
Through this we are finding new Hominids and pushing back expected timelines for all kinds of migrations. We are finding these early peoples often had more sophisticated societies and social groups than once thought too.
I read about the Homo Naledi amazing. IMO, what we are finding and will continue to find is that ancient people were far more advanced than currently are given credit for and we see the euro-centric attitude turned on its collective head daily.
The time lines are amazing, but doesn't surprise me. It confirms suspicions I already had on early migrations. I seems to me that not long after people built boats they used them to move long distances. Since boats that old don't last this long we have to rely on these new tools like DNA testing to fill in new information. That is also amazing.
Great stuff. Totally interesting.
It sure is, Veronica and there is more to come.