SOME ANCESTORS OF NATIVE AMERICANS CAME FROM CHINA: STUDY

Mon 15 May 2023:

Human migrations have occurred throughout human history and prehistory. To begin with, humans were hunter-gatherers. Even as agriculture developed, migration continued for a variety of reasons. And the study of human migrations as a whole can produce some fascinating outcomes.

A study has now found that some of the ancestors of Native Americans in the Americas included people from China! It does appear counterintuitive as China and the US are separated by the vast Pacific Ocean and human migrations, particularly in prehistoric periods did not appear to involve crossing of large water bodies. It was widely held before that ancestors of Native Americans came from modern-day Siberia. They crossed the prehistoric land bridge that joined eastern tip of Russia with Alaska and entered the American continent.

But now, a research says that the some of those people who migrated to the Americas included those from China.

“Our findings indicate that besides the previously indicated ancestral sources of Native Americans in Siberia, the northern coastal China also served as a genetic reservoir contributing to the gene pool,” said Yu-Chun Li, one of the report authors as quoted in a report by The Guardian.

Li also stated that during the second migration, some members of that lineage settled in Japan.

Researchers from the Kunming Institute of Zoology investigated the D4h lineage. It is linked to mitochondrial DNA, which is only passed on to the next generation by mothers

To find D4h, the researchers analyzed 100,000 modern and 15000 ancient DNA samples. Finally, the researchers identified 216 modern and 39 ancient individuals.

They looked at the mutations that have happened over time. The researchers were able to determine D4h’s inception and expansion history by looking at the geographical location of the samples and using carbon dating.

The second migration of people occurred between 19,000 and 11,500 years ago during melting period of the then prevalent ice age. And through this study, the reasearchers have been able to find surprising link between Native Americans and some of their ancestors who came from China.

“However, we don’t know in which specific place in northern coastal China this expansion occurred and what specific events promoted these migrations,” said Li, as quoted by The Guardian.

“More evidence, especially ancient genomes, are needed to answer these questions.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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