A mitochondrial DNA study points to at least two waves of migration linking the Americas, China, and Japan- one during the last Ice Age, and another as the ice began to retreat. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The research team traced a rare Native American founder lineage across the continents and time, looking at mitochondrial DNA passed down through females. Using 100,000 modern-day and 15,000 ancient samples, the team was able to identify 216 contemporary and 39 ancient individuals that shared the lineage, mapping its branching paths using carbon dating and comparing mutations picked up along the way.

“The Asian ancestry of Native Americans is more complicated than previously indicated,” molecular anthropologist

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