New DNA evidence on peopling of the Americas

[DavidBrown]

Mitochondrial DNA has been extracted from a 12,000 year old skeleton of a teenage girl found in an underwater cave in Mexico. It shows that the girl was ancestral to American Indians and helps discount a theory that early Americans rafted in from the Atlantic as well as coming down from the Bering Straight.

I put this story in the wildlife forum because the story of the cave that the girl was found in is fascinating. The cave contains many megafauna skeletons also including gompotheres and cave bears.

DNA from skull links Ice Age girl to Native Americans alive today-Los Angeles Times

 

[carlos55]

Good post david, this agreat find. The cave where the remains were found is only 8 kilometers from Tulum, any area familiar to various zoochaters. The national Institute of anthropology reported that many animal remains where found with Naia. Along with the saber tooth tiger, cave bears and giant ground sloths were tapir, peccary, puma, bobcat, coyote, coatis and fruit bats. All of the later species can still be found in protected areas of yucatan and quintana roo. Which brings us back to the controversial discussion as to if the paleo- american descendents of naia helped eliminate the megafauna.
It would be great to have a fine paleonotological museum in cancun or tulum like the labrea musuem you posted.

 

[DavidBrown]

It sounds like a paleontological museum would be really great, Carlos. I would love to have visited Mexico 12,000 years ago and seen cave bears and gompotheres...from a safe distance.