Colombia was, until 2025, a complete blank.

Venezuela is largely uncharted.

Bolivia has limited coverage.

Ecuador and western Colombia are essentially unknown.

These gaps matter because they represent regions where unique population histories — comparable to what the 2025 study documented for the Bogotá Altiplano — might be preserved in the archaeological record and accessible through ancient DNA analysis.

The Checua discovery demonstrates that even well-studied archaeological regions can harbor surprising genetic diversity that was invisible to any method other than ancient genomics.

The eleven-fold increase in Colombian ancient genomic coverage that the 2025 study represents — from zero to 21 individuals — illustrates how much can be learned from what was previously a complete gap.