The genetic distance between the founding Native American population and its closest known Asian relatives is consistent with a period of isolation on the order of 10,000 years — exactly the duration proposed by the standstill hypothesis.

More specifically, ancient DNA from early Alaskan individuals — particularly the Upward Sun River infant from about 11,500 years ago, and the Ancient Beringian individual whose genome was published from a burial site in interior Alaska — has provided direct genetic evidence from the Beringian region at a time close to the proposed dispersal period.

These individuals show a genetic profile that is consistent with their position as either the descendants of the isolated Beringian population or individuals closely related to the founding population of the Americas.

The Ancient Beringian individual, in particular, has been important for understanding the genetic structure of the founding population.