An international team of scientists has uncovered evidence that early Asians embarked on humanity’s longest prehistoric journey, traveling more than 20,000 kilometers from North Asia to the southernmost tip of South America.
This remarkable journey, which took place over thousands of years, marks the farthest migration ever made by humans before modern technology.
The study, led by researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, was recently published in the journal Science.
The research is part of the GenomeAsia100K project, which analyzed DNA data from 1,537 individuals across 139 ethnic groups, allowing scientists to trace ancient human migration routes.
The journey began in Africa, where early humans first emerged, and moved through North Asia before finally reaching Tierra del Fuego in present-day Argentina.
This region is known as the last frontier of human migration on Earth.
The path these ancient travelers took was not easy. Thousands of years ago, the Earth’s landmasses were different, with ice bridges connecting certain regions.
This allowed people to travel on foot across vast distances that are now separated by water. The study revealed that early humans first arrived at the northwestern tip of South America, where Panama meets Colombia, around 14,000 years ago.
From this entry point, the group split into four main paths: some stayed in the Amazon basin, while others journeyed eastward to the Dry Chaco region and southward to the icy fields of Patagonia.
Another group traveled through the valleys of the Andes Mountains, the highest mountain range outside of Asia. These migrations took generations to complete, as people slowly adapted to new environments along the way.
The researchers also uncovered important information about how this long journey affected the genetics of these early migrants.
According to Associate Professor Kim Hie Lim from NTU’s Asian School of the Environment, the demanding trek across continents reduced the genetic diversity of these populations.
As they moved further from their ancestral homelands, they carried only part of the original gene pool, which also meant a decrease in the variety of immune-related genes.
This reduced diversity may have made some Indigenous communities more vulnerable to diseases brought by later colonizers, such as European settlers.
Dr. Elena Gusareva, a senior research fellow at NTU and the study’s first author, highlighted how these early groups adapted to new climates and environments over hundreds of generations. Their bodies evolved to meet the unique challenges of each region, showing extraordinary resilience and adaptability.
Professor Stephan Schuster, the study’s senior author and the Scientific Director of the GenomeAsia100K project, emphasized the importance of including more Asian populations in genetic studies.
He explained that Asian populations hold a greater diversity of human genomes than previously thought, reshaping our understanding of human history and evolution.
This groundbreaking research not only maps the incredible journey of early Asians to South America but also deepens our understanding of human adaptability and survival.
It serves as a powerful reminder of the endurance and resilience of our ancestors, who journeyed across the Earth long before the age of exploration.
