Burial siteMIKE WATERSSequencing DNA from the 12,600-year-old skeleton of an infant found in central Montana, scientists have confirmed that early Native Americans descended from ancient Asians, not from Western Europeans, according to a study published in Nature today (February 12). This work, led by ancient DNA expert Eske Willerslev of the University of Copenhagen and his colleagues, marked the first ancient North American genome to have been fully sequenced.
The male infant, “Anzick-1,” who was thought to have been between 12 to 18 months old when he died, was excavated in 1968 from a burial site. His skeleton is the oldest known specimen unearthed in North America belonging to the Clovis people, who populated the continent between 13,000 and 12,600 years ago. The boy was buried alongside 125 ancient artifacts including, antler tools.
Tool remains from the Clovis culture form the most widespread archaeological complex throughout North America. But genetic samples of ancient Americans more than 5,000 years old are rare, making it difficult for scientists to piece together the migration patterns of ancient humans in the New World. For the present study, Willerslev’s team has shown that the infant shared about one-third of ...
