But the researchers recovered enough genetic information to analyze ancestry.

And the result did not support the idea of a completely separate ancient population.

What The DNA Actually Showed

The genome placed the Spirit Cave individual firmly within the ancestry of Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

The result connected him genetically to ancient and present-day Native American populations rather than to some unrelated population that had vanished before modern Native peoples emerged.

That mattered because one of the arguments complicating repatriation had depended on the possibility of deep biological discontinuity.

The DNA showed continuity instead.

Later peer-reviewed research published in Science in 2018 placed the Spirit Cave genome within a much broader analysis of ancient human dispersals across the Americas.

The study compared ancient individuals from different regions and periods to reconstruct population relationships and movements over thousands of years.

Spirit Cave became one point in a much larger genetic map.