Archaeologists discovered 6,000 -year -old skeletons in Colombia who belonged to a mysterious group of people who could rewrite human history.
The remains, discovered on the old Preceramic site in Chelua near Bogotá, were hunter-gatherers whose DNA corresponds to any known indigenous population in the region today.
Instead, their genetic signature reveals a distinct and now extxted line which can be descended from the first humans to reach South America, which diverge early and remained genetically isolated for thousands of years.
By analyzing the ancient DNA of 21 people who lived in the Bogotá Altiplano between 6,000 and 500 years, the researchers rebuilt a rare genetic chronology covering nearly six millennia.
DNA samples, extracts from bone and teeth, show that the oldest individuals of Chelua wore a unique ancestral signature which has completely disappeared from the modern gene basin.
Their line does not simply mix with others, but it has completely disappeared.
“This area is essential to understand how the Americas have been populated,” said Kim-Louise Krettek, principal author and a doctorate. Student at the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution in Germany.
“It was the terrestrial bridge between North America and the South and the meeting point of three major cultural regions: the meso-American, the Amazon and the Andes.”
The skeletons of two hunter-gatherers searched on the archaeological site of Chela (Bogotá Altiplano).
Genetically, these first people were not linked to other ancient groups in South America, such as those found in Chile or Brazil, and they did not share the ancestry with the first North American populations, including those of the Anglo-Norman Islands of California.
The study also offers new perspectives on the so-called Isthmo-Colombian area, a cultural and genetic transition area that extends from Honduras through Panama and in the Andes of North Colombia.
“Our results show that control individuals derive from the first population who spread and differentiated in South America very quickly,” said Kim-Louise Krettek, the first author of the study and a doctorate. Student at the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution in Germany.
“We were unable to find descendants of these first hunter-gatherers of the Colombian high plains, the genes were not transmitted.
“This means that in the Bogotá region, there was a complete exchange of the population.”
About 2,000 years ago, the genetic landscape of Bogotá Highlands has radically changed.
The single line found in the first checks remains disappeared, replaced by a new population by DNA closely resembling that of the ancient Panamanians and modern chibcchanical language groups in Costa Rica and Panama.
Andrea Casas-Vargas, co-author and researcher at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, said that genetic evidence suggest that the culture that followed in the Altiplano has arrived with migrants from Central America.
The researchers found that the oldest individuals in Chenua wore a unique ancestral signature which completely disappeared from the gene basin. Their line did not mix or did not simply fade, but it has completely disappeared.
In addition to technological advances such as ceramics, these migrants have probably introduced chibchanes languages to what is now Colombia.
“The branches of this family of languages are still spoken in Central America today,” said Casas-Vargas.
It also noted that the complete disappearance of the genetic traces of the population of origin is rare in South America.
“Until now, a strong genetic continuity has been observed in the population of the Andes and the southern cone of South America over long periods and cultural changes,” she said.
These new arrivals are linked to Central America and show that the population of the Bogotá Highlands has changed considerably over time.
They brought with them the Herrera tradition, a culture known for its pottery and its first agriculture. Their descendants helped shape the civilization of Muisca, which dominated the region until the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century.
But the change did not come with signs of war or invasion. Archaeologists have found no evidence of violence.
Instead, the change may have gradually occurred by migration, cultural exchange or mixed marriages.
Over time, the unique DNA of the people checks, faded, diluted and finally erased.
Scientists have analyzed both maternal DNA and wider markers to trace ancestry. While the males of checks wore a common Dold-American signature (Q1B1A), the rest of their genetic profile has shown deep insulation and no link with subsequent populations.
Panoramic view of the Altiplano, the high plains around Bogotá.
The subsequent groups that lived on the set had stronger links with Venezuela and Central America, suggesting that the region has finally been part of a larger network extending through the northern part of the continent.
Even if the Chibchanes languages are always spoken in Costa Rica, Panama and north of Colombia, today’s Indigenous Colombians do not go directly from the check or even the first people of Herrera linked to the Chibchan.
Professor Cosimo Posth stressed the importance of distinguishing genetics from culture: “The questions on history and the origins approach a sensitive field of self -perception and the identity of the indigenous population.
“The genetic provision should not be considered as equal to cultural identity.”
He added that the research team has engaged with the Guardia Indígena Muisca, the living descendants of the Muisca culture in the high plains of Bogotá, to respect and incorporate community knowledge.
“As scientists addressing questions relevant to Aboriginal communities in Colombia, we respect and appreciate the richness of community knowledge.”
This research marks the first glance of Colombia on ancient DNA, and scientists believe that this is only the beginning.
Many surrounding regions such as western Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador have never been genetically analyzed. They may have more clues on the waves of people who helped shape the continent.
Scientists say that this is only the beginning. Since this marks the first genomic data game of Colombia, many unknown and potentially unknown populations can still be hidden under the ground.
“The old DNA of these areas will be crucial to understand how humans have migrated to South America,” Krettek said.