A groundbreaking genetic study has uncovered traces of indigenous Australasian ancestry in present-day South America, revealing a previously unknown migration that occurred around 1,300 years ago—coinciding with China's Tang Dynasty. The findings challenge existing theories about when and how humans populated the Americas.
Researchers identified genetic markers unique to Australasian populations, such as those from Papua New Guinea and Australia, in the DNA of modern Amazonian indigenous groups. This suggests the existence of a so-called "ghost" population—a group that left no other archaeological trace but contributed significantly to the genetic diversity of South America.
"This discovery fundamentally changes our understanding of ancient human movements," said the lead scientist. "We now know there were multiple waves of migration into the Americas, some of which originated from regions far beyond the Bering Land Bridge."
Previous models held that the first Americans crossed a land bridge from Siberia to Alaska around 15,000 years ago. The new evidence indicates that seafaring peoples from Australasia may have reached South America much later, possibly via island-hopping across the Pacific.
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