The genetic and archaeological evidence increasingly suggests a complex process involving multiple movement episodes, possible periods of population bottleneck and isolation in the Beringian region, and substantial diversification once people were in the Americas.

The details of this process are still being worked out through ongoing research.

What the Mal’ta genome contributes to this understanding is clarity about the source of one of the two major genetic streams in Native American ancestry.

The East Asian stream was already known.

The Ancient North Eurasian stream — the hidden ancestry — was revealed through the genome of a child buried beneath a stone slab in Siberia 24,000 years ago.

What Modern Native American Communities Inherit