Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Genetic research on Native American populations has significantly enhanced our understanding of the demographic history of the Americas, yet there remains much to uncover. Scientists are exploring how human populations migrated across the Americas thousands of years ago, initially arriving in North America before moving southward. As groups diverged, they developed distinct genetic profiles that scientists can analyze to reconstruct the human family tree.
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A recent DNA study has identified an unknown group that lived near the land bridge between North and South America around 6,000 years ago. Colombia, a crucial entry point into South America, had not been extensively studied through ancient genomics until now. Researchers have examined DNA from 21 individuals from the Bogotá Altiplano in Colombia, dating back between 6,000 and 500 years ago. However, scientists remain uncertain about the placement of these individuals in the family tree, as they do not appear closely related to ancient Native Americans in North America or to ancient or present-day South Americans.
“We reveal that preceramic hunter-gatherers represent a previously unknown basal lineage that derives from the initial South American radiation. These hunter-gatherers do not carry differential affinity to ancient North American groups nor contribute genetically to ancient or present-day South American populations.
By 2,000 years ago, the local genetic ancestry was replaced by populations from Central America associated with the Herrera ceramic complex, and survived through the Muisca period despite significant cultural changes. These ancient Altiplano individuals show higher affinities to Chibchan speakers from the Isthmus of Panama than to Indigenous Colombians, suggesting a dilution of the Chibchan-related ancestry through subsequent dispersal events,” the scientists write in their study.
Mysterious Genetic Replacement On The Altiplano By At Least 2000 Years Ago
As reported in the study, recent DNA analysis has unveiled an unknown ancient group that completely replaced the original inhabitants of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense region near Bogotá, raising many questions. These early settlers were distinct from other known indigenous groups in North or South America, suggesting they belonged to a unique lineage that diverged early in the continent’s history. Remarkably, this group left no genetic traces in subsequent populations, indicating their descendants vanished without intermingling with later arrivals.
Geographic and temporal framework of the analyzed ancient and modern individuals. Credit: K.-L. Krettek et al.
Archaeologist Andre Luiz Campelo dos Santos from Florida Atlantic University, who wasn’t part of the research team, noted that scientists didn’t anticipate discovering another lineage in South America. The findings from this ancient DNA analysis are surprising. Within just 4,000 years, these ancient humans disappeared and were replaced by a genetically different clan. The reasons for their disappearance remain uncertain—whether they assimilated into a larger group or were entirely displaced is still under investigation.
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Further genetic analysis across South America could help determine if this new group’s descendants exist elsewhere or if they truly vanished without a trace, according to Campelo dos Santos. Understanding these ancient Colombian genes is crucial for reconstructing the history of human migration across the Americas, as this region served as “the gateway to the South American continent,” according to study author Andrea Casas-Vargas from the National University of Colombia.
The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
