Native Americans traveled to North American continent in three waves: Journal ‘Nature’ DNA study

DNA research now shows that 15,000 years ago the first Native Americans crossed a land bridge from Siberia. | BY MICHAEL WALSH | www.nydailynews.com

A groundbreaking DNA study published today in the journal Nature appears to have settled the academic debate over how the Americas were initially populated. For years people have debated whether the people we call Native Americans arrived here as the result of one or multiple migrations. Now, by examining DNA sequence variations, researchers - led by Professor Andres Ruiz-Linares of University College London's Genetics, Evolution and Environment - have concluded that Native Americans are descended from three groups of migrants who emigrated from Siberia across a land bridge. The first migration occurred 15,000 years ago during the Ice Ages. The majority of Native Americans today are descendants of this group. The two subsequent migrant groups are the ancestors of the Arctic populations that speak a Na-Dene language or Eskimo-Aleut languages.

Since only half of the DNA of the Inuit comes from the first group of travelers, their genetic composition is the most different from other Native American populations, according to this study. This research project is considered the "most comprehensive survey of genetic diversity in Native Americans so far," according the Daily Mail. Ruiz-Linares claims that his team's research conclusively settles the debate as to whether the Americas were settles by one of multiple migrations from Siberia: "Native Americans do not stem from a single migration." MWalsh@nydailynews.com.