Latest news with #Anzick-1
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mirror
Scientists baffled after finding 6,000 year-old skeletons with no link to humans
The discovery, made in the Bogotá Altiplano of Colombia, has complicated the already-debated story of South America's first inhabitants - who were thought to have crossed from Siberia into North America A mysterious group of ancient hunter-gatherers has left researchers puzzled after DNA analysis revealed they were genetically unlike modern humans. The discovery, made in the Bogotá Altiplano of Colombia, has complicated the already-debated story of South America's first inhabitants. While some theories once proposed that humans reached the continent through transoceanic voyages from Africa or Australia, the dominant view holds that early settlers crossed from Siberia into North America via an Alaskan ice bridge roughly 20,000 years ago. From there, successive waves of migration are believed to have moved southward. The earliest confirmed human remains in South America, including 'Luzia' - a 12,000-year-old skeleton found in Brazil - show ancestry linked to this migration. A second wave of migrants arrived around 9,000 years ago, and a third about 5,000 years after that. However, Colombia, the gateway between Central and South America, has been largely overlooked in ancient DNA studies - until now. Researchers analysed the remains of 21 individuals buried across five archaeological sites in the Bogotá highlands, with skeletons dating from 6,000 to 500 years old. The results, published in the journal Science Advances, were unexpected. 'We show that the hunter-gatherer population from the Altiplano dated to around 6000 yr B.P. lack the genetic ancestry related to the Clovis-associated Anzick-1 genome and to ancient California Channel Island individuals,' the study reports. 'The analysed Preceramic individuals from Colombia do not share distinct affinity with any ancient or modern-day population from Central and South America studied to date.' This means the group that first settled the high plains around Bogotá did not descend from the Clovis people, nor did they contribute genetically to later South American populations. Their DNA appears unique - and then it disappears entirely. The group seems to have vanished roughly 2,000 years ago, possibly as a result of incoming migration. DNA evidence shows that by this time, a new population had taken over the region - one that brought with it agriculture, pottery, and Chibchan languages still spoken in parts of Central America today. 'The genes were not passed on,' said Kim-Louise Krettek of the University of Tübingen. 'That means in the area around Bogotá there was a complete exchange of the population.' This genetic turnover coincides with the cultural shift from the Preceramic period to the Herrera period. The study describes this as a 'seemingly complete replacement' of the region's original inhabitants. 'That genetic traces of the original population disappear completely is unusual,' added Andrea Casas-Vargas of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Scientists Uncover DNA Puzzle: 6,000-Year-Old Remains Reveal Mysterious Ancestors
Archaeologists working in Colombia's Bogotá Altiplano recently uncovered ancient human remains that have left scientists puzzled. Genetic analysis of the 6,000-year-old skeletons revealed DNA with no direct connection to any known ancient or modern populations in South America, a finding that upends previous assumptions about regional ancestry. The team, whose study was published in Science Advances, analyzed both mitochondrial and genome-wide data from 21 ancient individuals who lived in the region between 6,000 and 500 years ago. The results show a striking lack of continuity with known Indigenous populations in Colombia. Instead, the genetic evidence suggests a closer, though still tenuous, link to Chibchan-speaking groups from the Isthmus of Panama. However, this connection remains incomplete and raises more questions than answers. Around 6,000 years ago, these hunter-gatherers transitioned to agriculture and settled in the Bogotá Altiplano. Then, they mysteriously vanished from the genetic record. Unlike the Anzick-1 child of the Clovis culture or ancient Channel Islands residents whose DNA traces through modern populations, these ancient Colombians stand alone, without clear descendants. Why these people's DNA doesn't align with others is still uncertain. One theory suggests that as these groups migrated and mingled with others, their genetic markers diluted over time. Another possibility is that they represent a unique, now-extinct lineage. 'This area has long been a crossroads of culture and language, where ancient people from Central and South America converged,' the researchers noted. 'Understanding their history may illuminate broader patterns of human migration across the continent.' Further research in neighboring areas, like western Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, is planned to fill the gaps. For now, these ancient Colombians remain a genetic mystery, hinting at forgotten migrations and lost connections that shaped the Uncover DNA Puzzle: 6,000-Year-Old Remains Reveal Mysterious Ancestors first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 3, 2025
