A fragmented tooth discovered in Southern Siberia shows evidence of Native American migration dating back 14,000 years ago.
However, there had been multiple arguments and theories regarding how the first Americans crossed from Asia to North America.
Conflicting Timelines and Archaeological Evidence
The oldest migration theory between Asia and North America is The Bering Land Bridge. This seemingly clear connection "only appears when ice is locked up on land and sea levels drop," shares Craig Childs, the author of 'Atlas of a Lost World.'
For years, this theory has been widely accepted until new scientific discoveries began to uncover a different narrative.
Eske Willerslev of the Natural Museum in Denmark shares that 'the corridor opened up around 14,000 to 15,000 years ago, it remained free of vegetation and animals for thousands of years. Consequently, it was not able to sustain human migrants until much later, around 12,600 years ago,' Willersley continues. This results in a chronological problem for archaeologists since humans were already in the Americas by that time; 'evidence shows that humans were present in South America as long as 14,700 years ago.'
Childs also discusses an alternative route known as the kelp highway, which could explain the migration of a different group earlier than the Siberian movement.
'During the Ice Age, this coast was continuous from Sumatra to the tip of South America,' shares the author. Today, however, the coast remains underwater, and all 'evidence of boats and people moving along it is much thinner than people being on the land mass.'
As population history recorded humans living in the Lake Bikal Siberian region between the Upper Paleolithic, Neolithic, and the Early Bronze Age, this evidence helped make the DNA connection to Native Americans.
Out of the 19 human genomes they analyzed, one specific genome confirmed the DNA link between Siberians and indigenous Americans.
Archaeologist Ben Potter from the Arctic Studies Center at Liaocheng University in China stated that 'We now have genetic data to suggest that Native American-related groups were widespread in Northeast Asia after the last ice age.'
Contrary to scientific evidence, Childs goes on to share the Navajo theory of the first people.
'The first people there came out of the ground. These are stories related to origin and creation stories all over the Americas. Native tribes have clear stories about how they got here, coming out of caves or up through springs and underground sources,' the author narrates.
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The Story of UKY001
The discovered tooth belonged to the designated UKY001, a male individual. DNA analysis revealed genetics from Ancient North Eurasians (ANE) and Northeast Asians (NEA), which exists in Native Americans.
Potter, who is not currently included in this new scientific discovery, says that these facts align 'well with broad archaeological and genetic patterns and expectations, including the presence of Native American-related populations in Siberia around 14,000 years ago.'
'Their results further strengthen the hypothesis of an interior migration of Native Americans from Southern Siberia to the Americas after 16,000 years ago' the archaeologist adds.
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