European admixture in Chinchorro DNA

Abstract

It is widely held that, except for migrations from Beringia or Siberia, there was no contact between the Old World and the New World prior to the colonization of North America by the Norse in the late 10^th century AD. Analyses of 23 ancient American DNA samples reveal, however, the presence of European admixture in a sample taken from a Chinchorro mummy of northern Chile dated to 3972–3806 BC. This discovery implies a more complex history of the peopling of the Americas than previously accepted.