The analysis found that Anzick-1 was more closely related to Native American populations from Central and South America than to those from North America.

This was a surprising and important finding.

If the Clovis people were the ancestors of all or most Native Americans, you might expect roughly equal relationship to North and South American populations.

The stronger affinity for Central and South American populations suggested something more complex about the population history of the Americas — something that would require additional evidence to fully understand.

The researchers proposed a model in which the ancestors of Anzick-1 split from the ancestors of the people who would become the Native Americans of North America at some point after the initial peopling of the Americas.