{
  "id": 11426589,
  "title": "The ancestors of today's Indigenous people arrived in the Americas during the coldest part of the last ice age, study suggests",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/the-ancestors-of-todays-indigenous-people-arrived-in-the-americas",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-02T11:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Science",
    "slug": "live-science",
    "url": "https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/americas/the-ancestors-of-todays-indigenous-people-arrived-in-the-americas-during-the-coldest-part-of-the-last-ice-age-study-suggests"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "For over a century, archaeologists have debated the exact timeline of when humans first arrived in the Americas. A new study of existing genetic evidence suggests that the ancestors of today's Indigenous peoples likely migrated to the Americas no earlier than 21,000 years ago, during the coldest part of the last ice age known as the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Researchers Bethany Potter and Savannah Hay, from the Kansas Geological Survey and the University of Kansas, respectively, published their findings in the journal Current Opinion in Genetics & Development.\n\nThe research team analyzed genetic data from ancient Indigenous people and used it to investigate three main models for Native American origins: an entry into the Americas before the LGM, during the LGM, or after the LGM. The contentious nature of this topic among anthropologists stems from differing opinions on which of the earliest archaeological sites are legitimate, impacting their preferred model.\n\nToday, archaeologists know that humans were present in the Americas by around 13,500 years ago, but the exact timeline remains unclear. Genetic evidence, however, has revealed valuable insights into the first people in the Americas. During the LGM, a group of people near Siberia or Beringia, including the land bridge connecting Asia to Alaska, split into different groups – ancient Native Americans, ancient Beringians, and one or more \"ghost\" lineages – and quickly moved along the Pacific coast. These groups may have split again around 16,000 years ago into Northern and Southern Native Americans.\n\nThe study highlights the need for more genetic data to fully understand the migration patterns of the first Indigenous people. While the current genetic data correlates with archaeological evidence showing people entered the Americas at least 14,000 years ago and possibly as early as 21,000 years ago, more DNA evidence is needed to uncover the full picture. For instance, there are no published ancient genomes from the Great Plains, despite it being a significant area of study for the researchers' lab group. Furthermore, human footprints found at White Sands in New Mexico, dated to 23,000 years ago, suggest that people were living there prior to the LGM, but genetic data does not indicate that this population significantly contributed to the ancestors of today's Indigenous peoples.\n\nThe researchers emphasize that there are several scenarios compatible with a pre-LGM entry of people into the Americas, but expanding geographic coverage in ancient DNA studies would be beneficial in filling the gaps and providing a clearer understanding of early peopling events. While the question of when people first entered the Americas remains unresolved due to current archaeological and genetic evidence, the publication of new ancient genomic data has the potential to shed light on this long-standing mystery.",
  "summary": "The first people in the Americas arrived no earlier than 21,000 years ago, but 'there are huge gaps in our genetic dataset,' a new study reports.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}