Tracking Genes Through Time and Space: Changing Perspectives on New World Origins

Over the past several decades, researchers have obtained considerable genetic data from Native American and Siberian populations for the purpose of elucidating the nature and timing of the peopling of the New World. Most of these studies have shown a genetic linkage between populations from northern Asia and the Americas. However, because of using different molecular markers, not all of them have presented the same picture of biological variation in these populations. At the same time, comparing the colonization models generated from different genetic data sets has yielded new insights into the genetic relationships between Siberian and Native American groups. This paper provides a brief historical overview of these biogenetic studies, and also discusses the ways in which future research may further illuminate our understanding of the colonization of the Americas.