Beringian Standstill: Ancient Baby Genetics Boost Bering Land Bridge Layover Hypothesis
Monday, October 26, 2015 - 17:40
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Scientists have deciphered maternal genetic material from two babies buried together at an Alaskan campsite 11,500 years ago and found the infants had different mothers and were the northernmost known kin to two lineages of Native Americans found farther south throughout North and South America. By showing that both genetic lineages lived so far north so long ago, the study supports the "Beringian standstill model." It says that Native Americans descended from people who migrated from Asia to Beringia - the vast Bering land bridge that once linked Siberia and Alaska - and then spent up to 10,000 years in Beringia before moving rapidly into the Americas beginning at least 15,000 years ago. read more