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6,000-Year-Old Colombian Remains Reveal a Lost Human Lineage — No Clear Living Relatives

6,000-Year-Old Colombian Remains Reveal a Lost Human Lineage — No Clear Living Relatives

Genetic tests on roughly 6,000-year-old skeletons excavated in Colombia show no clear match to modern Colombians or to previously sequenced ancient individuals from nearby regions. The remains have only a distant genetic affinity with some modern Panamanians who speak Chibchan languages. The discovery complicates prevailing views of early migration into the Americas and highlights how much of our species' prehistoric diversity remains undocumented. Popular Mechanics editors John Gilpatrick and Jamie Sorcher explore the scientific and human implications in an episode of "The Astounding Pop Mech Show."

Ancient Skeletons in Colombia Point to a Vanished Branch of Humanity

Archaeologists recently excavated roughly 6,000-year-old human skeletons in Colombia that geneticists expected would match living populations in the region. Instead, DNA analysis uncovered a lineage with no clear connection to modern Colombians or to previously sequenced ancient individuals from nearby areas.

The only detectable, faint genetic affinity is to some present-day Panamanians who speak Chibchan languages, but that relationship is distant and does not explain the broader absence of related populations in the archaeological and genetic records.

Why this matters: The finding challenges simplified models of early migration and population dynamics in northern South America. It suggests more complex patterns of settlement, isolation, and disappearance than current evidence can fully explain.

Popular Mechanics editors John Gilpatrick and Jamie Sorcher unpack the discovery and its implications in an episode of "The Astounding Pop Mech Show." They discuss how these remains complicate theories about how and when people spread through the Americas, and consider the human side of such discoveries — what it feels like to find an entire branch of people that appears to have vanished from the genetic record.

“This discovery reminds us that the human story is incomplete — many chapters are still buried, waiting to be read,” the show notes.

For a deeper look at the science, the context, and the emotional questions raised by the find, watch the full episode on PopularMechanics.com.

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