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+--- Thread: Research DNA puts humans in the Americas at 21,000 years, but debate isn't over (anthropology) (/thread-21529.html)
DNA puts humans in the Americas at 21,000 years, but debate isn't over (anthropology) - C C - Oct 8, 2026
https://gizmodo.com/dna-puts-humans-in-the-americas-at-the-height-of-the-last-ice-age-but-the-debate-isnt-over-2000822975
EXCERPTS: At least, that’s one takeaway from a recent review of genomic research on the arrival of humans in the Americas based on a collection of relevant papers and datasets.
[...] The evidence pointed to human arrival no earlier than 21,000 years ago—at the height of the last ice age—although archaeological evidence may be consistent with an earlier date. Based on this research, it appears that humans living in Siberia or Beringia split into different groups during the last glacial maximum and possibly again roughly 16,000 years ago. For context, the last ice age ended about 11,700 years ago.
[...] But geneticists still observe significant limits, as study co-authors Jennifer Raff, Savannah Hay, and Bethany Potter told Gizmodo in a joint response. For instance, samples from “very old but (thus far) well-validated sites” like White Sands are dated to 23,000 years ago. However, genetic data suggests that this population didn’t make that big of a contribution to modern Indigenous people, and relationships like these “complicate our understanding of genetic data,” the researchers explained.
[...] If the team’s estimate of 21,000 years is correct, earlier populations would either belong to an undiscovered or near-decimated lineage or a lineage that’s rare in modern Native Americans. ... Of course, the latest analysis isn’t necessarily an exhaustive account of different interpretations that exist—which really speaks to the contested nature of this topic... (MORE - missing details)