A study published in the May issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution claims all modern-day Native people descend from a single group.

Researchers examined the DNA from 20 Native groups in the U.S., Canada, Greenland, Central America and South America. They found a common genetic marker in all of the populations.

The genetic marker was not found in the DNA of 31 modern-day Asian groups, leading researchers to conclude that the ancestors of modern-day Native people lived in isolation before expanding to the Americas. The study estimates the most recent common ancestor lived somewhere between 7,325 and 39,900 years ago.

The marker was found in two Native groups in Western Siberia, in Russia, that are closely linked to Alaska Natives.

Get the Story:
Native Americans descended from a single ancestral group, DNA study confirms (Physorg.Com 4/29)

Get the Study:
Haplotypic Background of a Private Allele at High Frequency in the Americas (Molecular Biology and Evolution 2009 26(5):995-1016; doi:10.1093/molbev/msp024)