6,000-Year-Old Remains From Colombia Reveal a Unique DNA Profile With No Direct Modern Matches

Genetic analysis of skeletons from the Bogotá Altiplano has uncovered a distinct ancient DNA profile that does not directly match any known ancient or modern South American population.

Researchers who sequenced mitochondrial and genome-wide DNA from 21 individuals dated between about 6,000 and 500 years ago found that the earliest group—people living on the Bogotá high plateau roughly 6,000 years ago—carry a genetic signature that disappears from later samples in the region. These individuals show closer genomic affinities with groups now living on the Isthmus of Panama who speak Chibchan languages, but the relationship is not a definitive proof of direct descent.

What the Study Found

The team combined mtDNA and genome-wide data and concluded that the 6,000-year-old Bogotá Altiplano inhabitants represent a distinct ancestry that is not clearly represented among modern Indigenous Colombian populations. One plausible explanation is that these people or their descendants mixed extensively with neighboring groups over millennia, diluting their unique genetic signal. Another possibility is population replacement or migration events that removed their genetic signature from the sampled record.

Broader Context: Peopling of the Americas

Genomic research traces the origins of Native American ancestors to populations in Siberia and East Asia that mixed roughly 20,000 years ago and later moved into the Americas around 16,000 years ago. From that ancestral stock, northern and southern Native American branches emerged. Several southern lineages reached Central and South America; one is linked to the well-known Anzick-1 child (≈12,700 years old), another to early populations associated with California’s Channel Islands, and others to early remains in Belize, Brazil, and Chile.

Regional Significance

The study highlights the importance of the Isthmo-Colombian corridor—from the coast of Honduras into the northern Colombian Andes—for understanding these early movements. The researchers note that the region connects Mesoamerica, Amazonia and the Andes and likely played a major role in shaping genetic and cultural diversity across the Americas.

Next Steps and Recommendations

Because the current dataset leaves important questions unanswered, the authors call for more ancient genomic sampling in neighboring, understudied regions such as western Colombia, western Venezuela, and Ecuador. Additional genomes from those areas could reveal whether similar, now-lost ancestries existed more widely and help clarify the timing and routes of migrations into South America.

“Ancient genomic data from neighboring areas along the Northern Andes that have not yet been analyzed through ancient genomics … will be pivotal to better define the timing and ancestry sources of human migrations into South America,” the authors write in Science Advances.

Bottom line: Ancient DNA from the Bogotá Altiplano reveals a previously unrecognized genetic profile that currently has no clear direct descendants in the sampled ancient or modern populations. The finding underscores the complexity of prehistoric population dynamics in northern South America and the need for broader sampling to fill gaps in the genetic record.