New study finds prehistoric migrations from China to Americas

LOS ANGELES, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Some of the first humans to arrive in the Americas came from China during two distinct migrations -- the first during the last ice age and the second shortly after, according to a new genetics study published Tuesday.

A team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have used mitochondrial DNA to trace a female lineage from northern coastal China to the Americas.

By integrating contemporary and ancient mitochondrial DNA, the team found evidence of at least two migrations, according to the study published in the journal Cell Reports.

The researchers scoured over 100,000 contemporary and 15,000 ancient DNA samples from across Eurasia to eventually identify 216 contemporary and 39 ancient individuals belonging to the rare lineage.

By comparing the accumulated mutations, geographic locations, and carbon-dated age of each of these individuals, the researchers were able to trace the lineage's branching path.

"The Asian ancestry of Native Americans is more complicated than previously indicated," said first author Li Yuchun, a molecular anthropologist at the CAS.

"In addition to previously described ancestral sources in Siberia, Australo-Melanesia, and Southeast Asia, we show that northern coastal China also contributed to the gene pool of Native Americans," Li said.