Genomic insights into the early peopling of the Caribbean.
Kathrin NägeleCosimo PosthMiren Iraeta OrbegozoYadira Chinique de ArmasSilvia Teresita Hernández GodoyUlises M González HerreraMaria A Nieves-ColónMarcela Sandoval VelascoDorothea MylopotamitakiRita RadzeviciuteJason E LaffoonWilliam J PestleJazmin Ramos-MadrigalThiseas Christos LamnidisWilliam C SchafferRobert S CarrJane S DayCarlos Arredondo AntúnezArmando Rangel RiveroAntonio J Martínez-FuentesEdwin Crespo-TorresIvan RoksandicAnne C StoneCarles Lalueza-FoxMenno HooglandMirjana RoksandicCorinne L HofmanJohannes KrauseHannes SchroederPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2020)
The Caribbean was one of the last regions of the Americas to be settled by humans, but where they came from and how and when they reached the islands remain unclear. We generated genome-wide data for 93 ancient Caribbean islanders dating between 3200 and 400 calibrated years before the present and found evidence of at least three separate dispersals into the region, including two early dispersals into the Western Caribbean, one of which seems connected to radiation events in North America. This was followed by a later expansion from South America. We also detected genetic differences between the early settlers and the newcomers from South America, with almost no evidence of admixture. Our results add to our understanding of the initial peopling of the Caribbean and the movements of Archaic Age peoples in the Americas.