Ancient Baja Mexican skulls show South Asian origin

Skulls point to varied origins for first Americans
Last Updated Wed, 03 Sep 2003 17:21:16
BARCELONA, SPAIN - The ancestry of the first Americans may be more
complex than anthropologists thought.
Researchers studied 33 ancient skulls excavated in Mexico. They say
unlike other early American remains, the artifacts resemble those of
people from south Asia and the southern Pacific Rim.

Rolando González-JoséRolando González-José of the University of
Barcelona and his colleagues took detailed measurements of skulls from
an extinct tribe.

The skulls were excavated at the tip of the Baja California Peninsula in
Mexico. The study appears in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

The researchers conclude the skulls' features appear more Paleoamerican
than those of the Paleoindians, thought to be direct ancestors of
present-day Native Americans.

"Surprisingly, the craniofacial features of these Baja Paleoamericans
skulls have similar long and narrow braincases and relatively short,
narrow faces, implying a common ancestry with the inhabitants of south
Asia and the Pacific Rim," wrote anthropology researcher Tom Dillehay in
a commentary accompanying the study.
Anthropologists believe different skeletal populations with similar
skull features share a common ancestry and are genetically related,
while those with different features show a different ancestry.

Rolando González-JoséScientists turn to migration histories and
natural selection to explain the similarities and differences.
Researchers originally thought the first humans in America began
arriving 12,000 years ago, based on dental and other archeological
evidence.

Recently, findings have painted a more complicated picture.
Archeologists say there may have been several different founding
populations who arrived in various places with different lifestyles and
technologies.

Dillehay notes scientists can't draw firm conclusions about the
relationship between ancient Paleoamericans and Baja Amerindians until
more skeletal data and archeological evidence is found.

"What we really want to know is what took place within and between these
populations, how they changed over time, and how quickly they changed,"
he wrote.

Written by CBC News Online staff





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