One andskeleton aged between 13 and 12 thousand years, discovered in the Yucatan Peninsula (east of the Mexico), can change the way we think about the first inhabitants of America (Paleo Americans) and the Amerindians. This skeleton is one of the oldest and most complete among those found in America and was located in a cave system.
The human skeleton found was a woman who was less than 1.5 m tall and who died at approximately 15 years of age. The bones were found inside a pit located more than 40 meters below sea level, known as black today. In this place were also found bones of several animals that have gone extinct, such as saber-tooths and mastodons.
It is believed that the girl died after falling on the site, which at the time was not flooded. The researchers suggest death from a fall due to fractures in the bones of the pelvis that were acquired before her death.
the skeleton Naia, as it became known, has some African and Australian Aborigine traits that are characteristic of Paleoamericans. However, mitochondrial DNA data extracted from wisdom teeth revealed Naia's kinship with the modern indigenous peoples, which suggests that the entire native population of America would be the result of a single wave of migration.
O DNA de Naia has haplogroup D1, which originated in Siberia and is found in approximately 10% of Amerindians. With this result, the researchers managed to show a Paleoamerican with Siberian ancestors and who has genetic ties with the Amerindians.
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The researchers who made the discovery claim that the first people arrived on the American continent through the Bering Strait, by a region known as Beringia. According to the authors, although the skull of the first american skeletons present morphology distinct from modern Native Americans, America was probably populated by a single migratory wave and the differences between Amerindians and Paleoamericans is explained by the natural selection. This theory confronts another accepted by several researchers that claims that Native Americans are descendants of people who migrated from various regions of the planet, not just Siberia.
The work that was considered by many as the missing piece for understanding the bond between the first settlers and the indigenous groups of the American continent has not yet been accepted by all. Apparently, researchers have not yet reached a consensus on the topic and more studies should be carried out to confirm the theory proposed by this study.
The work, led by James Chatters, can be found in the journal Science. Click here to access the study.
By Ma. Vanessa dos Santos
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SANTOS, Vanessa Sardinha dos. "Naia's Skeleton"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biologia/esqueleto-naia.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
