New research reveals prehistoric migration from China

A new genetic study published Tuesday (May 9) in the journal Cell Reports suggests that some of the first people to arrive in the Americas came from China in two separate migrations: The first during the last ice age and the second shortly after.

Indigenous Mapuche women of Chile weave on a loom. Photo: AFP

“Our findings indicate that in addition to the previously identified Native American ancestral sources in Siberia, coastal northern China also... contributed to this gene pool,” Yu-Chun Li, one of the report's authors, told AFP.

Li added that the second wave of migration included a Chinese influx and a population that settled in Japan, which could help explain similarities in prehistoric arrowheads and spears found in the Americas, China and Japan.

It was previously believed that ancient Siberians, who crossed a land bridge that existed across the Bering Strait connecting modern Russia and Alaska, were the sole ancestors of Native Americans.

More recent studies (from the late 2000s onwards) have signalled that more diverse sources from Asia may be connected to an ancient lineage that formed populations across the Americas, including Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and California.

The study found that there were two migration events. The first occurred between 19,500 and 26,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum, when ice sheet coverage was at its greatest and climatic conditions in northern China may have been unfavorable.

The second occurred during the Meltdown, from 19,000 to 11,500 years ago. Population growth during this period may have triggered migrations.

In the second wave of migration, a subgroup came from the northern coastal regions of China to Japan, especially the indigenous Ainu. The discovery shows archaeological similarities between ancient people in the Americas, China and Japan.

The strengths of the study, Li said, are the number of samples they found and additional evidence from Y-chromosomal DNA that suggests the male ancestors of Native Americans lived in northern China at the same time as the female ancestors, giving them confidence in their findings.

Mai Anh (according to AFP, CNA)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nghien-cuu-moi-cho-thay-su-di-cu-thoi-tien-su-tu-trung-quoc-den-chau-my-post247072.html