One of the most important findings has been the identification of at least two distinct founding genetic lineages in the Americas.

The first — and better documented — is the lineage associated with the Anzick-1 individual from Montana, who was buried approximately 12,600 years ago along with Clovis artifacts.

Anzick-1 represents the ancestral population most closely connected to what researchers call “southern Native American” ancestry — the lineage that gave rise to most of the Indigenous populations of South America and much of North America.

The second founding lineage is associated with populations sometimes called “Ancient Beringian” or “related to the California Channel Island ancient individuals” — populations that appear to have diverged from the main founding lineage early in the peopling process and that are more closely connected to some North American populations than to the South American pattern.