The chemical stability of the cave water, the consistent cold temperature, the absence of the surface processes that typically break down organic material, all contributed to a preservation quality that made the scientific analysis possible.

The flooding was, in the long run, what saved Naia’s remains from the fate that most organic material in tropical environments meets within a few thousand years.

The Deeper Scientific Fight

The 2014 Science paper on Naia was well-received by many researchers in the field of ancient American genomics, but it did not end the debate about early American morphology.

It could not, because a single mitochondrial haplogroup determination, however significant, is a limited window into the full genomic picture.