DNA Puts Humans in the Americas at the Height of the Last Ice Age, but the Debate Isn’t Over
Compared to the rest of the world, the American continent welcomed its first humans relatively later. 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.
- ▪Compared to the rest of the world, the American continent welcomed its first humans relatively later.
- ▪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.
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| Original publisher | Gizmodo |
| Canonical URL | https://gizmodo.com/dna-puts-humans-in-the-americas-at-the-height-of-the-last-ice-age-but-the-debate-isnt-over-2000822975 |
| Publication time | Wed, 07 Oct 2026 20:05:48 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-10-07T20:53:59.990Z |
| Last seen | 2026-10-07T20:54:09.682Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Cluster | nxoYZJexRay5 · 1 stories |
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Compared to the rest of the world, the American continent welcomed its first humans relatively later. You’d think that this (relative) proximity to modern times should make it easier to study—but reality isn’t so straightforward, it seems.cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({"playerId":"92b7b46b-43ed-4e0e-b21b-2c999302d9d7","settings":{"advertising":{"macros":{"AD_UNIT":"/23178111854/od.gizmodo.com/article","CHILD_UNIT":"article","POST_ID":"2000822975","POST_TYPE":"post","CHANNEL":"science","SECTION":"human-history","SUBSECTION":"","CATEGORIES":"human-history","TAGS":"archaeology,genomics,peopling-of-americas","NOP":"0"},"timeBeforeFirstAd":0}}}).render("cnx-player-main")}); At least, that’s one takeaway from a recent review of genomic research on the arrival of humans in the Americas based on a…
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