They May Have Been First in South America, Disappeared

Colombian researchers have identified a previously unknown human lineage after sequencing ancient DNA from remains unearthed near Bogota. The group, dubbed the Checua after the excavation site in Nemocon, is estimated to have lived about 6,000 years ago. While most other remains from the region share ancestry with ancient populations believed to have migrated south through Central America from the Bering Strait about 20,000 years ago, the Checua DNA does not match known lineages from the Americas. "It's a new lineage," Dr. Andrea Casas of the National University's Genetics Institute, co-author of a study published earlier this summer in Science Advances, tells NBC News.

The discovery includes partial remains from around 30 individuals, plus one largely intact skull. DNA sequences from six individuals were compared to other ancient samples. Thought to be some of the first hunter-gatherers to arrive in South America, per Discover, the Checua may have been an isolated, nomadic hunter-gatherer group that ultimately disappeared due to factors such as climate change, disease, or food scarcity, says Dr. Casas. Fellow study co-author Dr. Jose Vicente Rodriguez notes the Checua skull is more elongated than those of other populations found nearby, and dental analysis points to abscesses that likely led to tooth loss from infection. "Perhaps in a few years we'll find other remains and they will shed some light on this lineage," Casas tells NBC.