Solving mystery at tip of South America - Harvard Gazette

"We found this new lineage, a new group of people we didn't know about before, that has persisted as the main ancestry component for at least the last 8,000 years up to the present day."

"In a paper published in Nature, a team of international researchers analyzed DNA from more than 230 ancient people going back 10,000 years in the central Southern Cone of South America, an area roughly bounded by the Andes Mountains, Amazon rainforest, and the grassy plains of the Pampas."

"The southern tip of South America was one of the last regions of the world to be populated by modern humans, but the early history of settlement has remained murky."

DNA from more than 230 ancient individuals spanning 10,000 years in the central Southern Cone of South America was analyzed, with most samples from present-day Argentina. A previously unknown ancient lineage was identified that persisted as the dominant ancestry component for at least 8,000 years and continues into the present. That lineage contributed to a surprisingly diverse mosaic of indigenous cultures across the region. The central Southern Cone is bounded roughly by the Andes, Amazon, and Pampas. The southern tip of the Americas was among the last global regions settled by modern humans, with secure archaeological evidence near Arroyo Seco at about 14,000 years ago.

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