Mitochondrial DNA and the Peopling of the New World
By Theodore Schurr
Genetic variations among Native Americans provide further clues to who first populated the Americas and when they arrived
This Article From Issue
May-June 2000
Volume 88, Number 3
Page 246
DOI: 10.1511/2000.23.246
On the eve of Christopher Columbus's arrival on San Salvador (now part of the Bahamas) in 1492, there were perhaps several tens of millions of people inhabiting the Americas. Once it became evident that the inhabitants of this New World were not, in fact, East Indians (as Columbus had at first supposed), the existence of the Native American population became a huge puzzle to the Renaissance Europeans.
Except where noted, all photographs from the National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
American Scientist Comments and Discussion
To discuss our articles or comment on them, please share them and tag American Scientist on social media platforms. Here are links to our profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
If we re-share your post, we will moderate comments/discussion following our comments policy.