The Last Glacial Maximum, the most extreme period of the Ice Age, seems the most likely candidate for a significant population disruption.

Did the ANS retreat southward as conditions worsened, mixing with populations they encountered and losing their distinct genetic identity in the process?

Did they maintain a small population in the far north through the glacial maximum and then expand again as conditions improved, only to be genetically swamped by the large-scale population expansions of the early Holocene?

These questions cannot yet be answered.

The ancient DNA database for northeastern Siberia will continue to grow.