indigenous populations

Genetic Study Reveals Ancient 'Ghost Population' Link Between South American and Australasian Indigenous Groups

A study published in Nature reveals that some Indigenous South American populations carry genetic ancestry remarkably similar to Indigenous populations in Australia and Pacific Islands. Researchers concluded this ancestry did not come from the Americas' earliest settlers, pointing to an ancient "ghost population" that contributed genes to Amazonian groups. The findings challenge the decades-old theory that the Americas were populated through two major migration waves beginning roughly 15,000 years ago via the Bering Strait land bridge.