A 24,000-year-old arm bone indicates that Native
Americans may be cousins to Eurasians. DNA samples along with current projects
to map the DNA of Native Americans have made new discoveries. It was found that the Native Americans
share about 18% to 38% with Eurasian and other genomes with East Asians. This
may mean that Native Americans are really a mixing of genetics between
Eurasians and East Asians that create a distinct identity.
The scientists originally thought they contaminated
the samples and put the tests on hold. A year later, they found the same
results. They began to look around the American continent for other examples
and came across the 9,000-year-old Paleo-Indian found in Washington. To their amazement
this Native had features more European than East Asian.
It was believed that earlier studies with Eurasian
DNA were a result of mixtures with Europeans after settlement and colonization.
Now it is possible that such DNA structures are actually deeper and can date
back tens of thousands of years. If so, this would mean that Natives have been
in the area for a long time and have developed their own ways of life
independent of other societies.
When people view all human life as common, using
similar expressions, mannerisms, and processes but with different cultures the
idea is no longer farfetched. Other studies that are mapping the mich-DNA are
finding similarities in other large groups in other areas indicating that early human
development was very interrelated.
What does this really change for people? Mostly it
is about perspective. We often view ourselves as very different but these are
cultural differences. At a very deep level, we may all be interrelated and come
from similar ancient backgrounds. Over the years, we have learned different ways
of surviving within our environments and passed these methods through the
generations to create culture.
Mass,
et. al. (November 20th,2013). Upper Palaeolithic Siberian genome
reveals dual ancestry of Native Americans. doi:10.1038/nature12736 Journal
Other Reading:
Video on the History of Native Americans
