Ancient DNA from Siberian boy links Europe and America

Scientists have mapped the genome of a four-year-old boy who died in south-central Siberia 24,000 years ago.

It is the oldest modern human genome sequenced to date, researchers report in the journal Nature.

The results provide a window into the origins of Native Americans, whose ancestors crossed from Siberia into the New World during the last Ice Age.

They suggest about a third of Native American ancestry came from an ancient population related to Europeans.

Continues at BBC.

all ways thought they were more Chinese

Awesome, I love gnomes

robadob said:

all ways thought they were more Chinese

Assuming that the 2/3 of ancestors who were not European, were Asian (rather than having travelled directly from Africa), then they are more Asian, and quite likely more Chinese, since China occupies a large part of East Asia.

The Rev Dodgson said:

robadob said:

all ways thought they were more Chinese

Assuming that the 2/3 of ancestors who were not European, were Asian (rather than having travelled directly from Africa), then they are more Asian, and quite likely more Chinese, since China occupies a large part of East Asia.

They would likely be closest related to the nomadic plains tribes-Mongols, Tartars, etc.

The Rev Dodgson said:

robadob said:

all ways thought they were more Chinese

Assuming that the 2/3 of ancestors who were not European, were Asian (rather than having travelled directly from Africa), then they are more Asian, and quite likely more Chinese, since China occupies a large part of East Asia.

But if I’d read the article, I’d have found my assumptions were wrong:

“But the most puzzling part of this finding was that the boy showed no clear affinities with East Asian populations such as the Chinese, Koreans or Japanese.”

> They suggest about a third of Native American ancestry came from an ancient population related to Europeans.

There were two main waves of people who came across from Siberia to the Americas. It is generally said that the first wave came by sea and hugged the coast. I’m more inclined to think that the first wave was much more widespread across America but was wiped out by the second wave of people, except where they could escape by sea, on the coast.