A Novel Y-Chromosome Variant Puts an Upper Limit on the Timing of First Entry into the Americas
The Americas were the last continents to be settled by humans, yet many details of the earliest occupation remain poorly understood. Proposals for the date of first entry fall into two ranges, one suggesting a very early occupation ~30,000-40,000 years before present (BP), and the other favoring dates ~13,000 years BP, when the polar climate was again hospitable. We present Y-chromosomal data that support strongly the latter dates.
PDF file
The Americas were the last continents to be settled by humans, yet many details of the earliest occupation remain poorly understood. Proposals for the date of first entry fall into two ranges, one suggesting a very early occupation ~30,000-40,000 years before present (BP), and the other favoring dates ~13,000 years BP, when the polar climate was again hospitable. We present Y-chromosomal data that support strongly the latter dates.
PDF file
