The initial peopling of the Americas: new insights from continental patterns of dental diversity in past Native Americans

Author(s): Miguel Delgado

Year: 2025

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Beyond Pre-Clovis: Human Occupations in the Americas during the Last Glacial Maximum and the Perpetual Debate" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

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The early peopling of the Americas is a topic of intense debate. Among the most contentious issues remains the timing of the initial entry of humans into the continent. Currently, archaeological evidence recovered from sites dated to the Last Glacial Maximum has been reported across the New World, indicating that humans entered before that period. However, we still have limited information about the biological diversity of the first inhabitants of the continent because early skeletal remains are scarce, sparse, and unevenly preserved. Here, we evaluate, from a continental perspective and using quantitative genetic methods, the patterns of dental diversity in past Native Americans and discuss peopling models fitting the results obtained. At the continental level, we found a high fixation index (F<sub>ST</sub> = 0.08), where some differences appeared at the regional level, with Arctic populations exhibiting very high diversity, with average variation in other regions. Genetic distances suggest spatial and temporal differentiation, indicating three clusters: Arctic, Northwest Coast, and North, Central, and South America. These results are similar to those obtained using high-resolution (paleo)genomic data, which supports the notion that the degree of biological diversity found and the patterns of inter-population differentiation support an earlier date for the initial peopling.

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Cite this Record

The initial peopling of the Americas: new insights from continental patterns of dental diversity in past Native Americans. Miguel Delgado. Presented at The 90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2025 ( tDAR id: 509839)

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Keywords

General
Chronology • Migration • North America • South America

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52889