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Phoenix666 writes:

Ancient DNA provides new insights into the early peopling of the Caribbean:

The researchers analysed the genomes of 93 ancient Caribbean islanders who lived between 400 and 3200 years ago using bone fragments excavated by Caribbean archaeologists from 16 archaeological sites across the region.

Due to the region's warm climate, the DNA from the samples was not very well preserved. But using so-called targeted enrichment techniques, the researchers managed to extract enough information from the remains.

"These methods allowed us to increase the number of ancient genome sequences from the Caribbean by almost two orders of magnitude and with all that data we are able to paint a very detailed picture of the early migration history of the Caribbean," says Johannes Krause, Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, and another senior author of the study.

The researchers' findings indicate that there have been at least three different population dispersals into the region: two earlier dispersals into the western Caribbean, one of which seems to be linked to earlier population dispersals in North America, and a third, more recent "wave," which originated in South America.

Pre-Columbian maritime trade and movement may have been more robust than thought.

Journal Reference:
Kathrin Nägele, Cosimo Posth, Miren Iraeta Orbegozo, et al. Genomic insights into the early peopling of the Caribbean [$], Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.aba8697)

Original Submission