Ancient Human Migration

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Ancient Human Migration

Ancient human migration describes the movements, dispersals, expansions, contractions, and interactions of human populations throughout prehistory and early history. Evidence from archaeology, fossils, linguistics, environmental reconstruction, modern genetics, and especially ancient DNA has transformed understanding of these movements. Rather than a simple sequence in which populations spread into empty territories and remained isolated, human history increasingly appears to have been characterized by repeated migration, admixture, population replacement, local continuity, and renewed interaction.

Modern humans evolved within Africa, where populations were already geographically and genetically structured long before the principal expansions beyond the continent. Homo sapiens later dispersed into Arabia and Eurasia in multiple movements, encountering and interbreeding with archaic human populations such as Neanderthals. Subsequent migrations carried people throughout Europe and Asia, into Sahul, across the Pacific, and ultimately into the Americas.

Ancient genomic research has also demonstrated that many major cultural transitions—including the spread of farming, pastoralism, languages, technologies, and political systems—were accompanied to varying degrees by movements of people. Some transitions involved large-scale population replacement, while others primarily reflected cultural transmission between neighboring populations.

Origins in Africa and Early Human Dispersal

Africa contains the deepest known history of Homo sapiens. Fossils and genetic evidence indicate that early modern-human populations were distributed across several regions of the continent rather than originating from one completely isolated population. Ancient African genomes reveal long-standing population structure, episodes of migration, and interaction among hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, and agricultural communities.

Human movement within Africa preceded the major expansion outside the continent. Changing environments repeatedly connected and separated regions, creating opportunities for populations to expand into new habitats. Growing ecological flexibility may have been especially important because populations capable of exploiting deserts, grasslands, forests, coasts, and colder environments were better equipped to move into unfamiliar regions.

The traditional idea of a single "Out of Africa" migration has increasingly been replaced by models involving multiple dispersals. Earlier Homo sapiens populations reached parts of Arabia and Eurasia before the ancestors of most present-day non-African populations expanded widely roughly during the Late Pleistocene. Some early migrations appear to have left limited genetic descendants, while later expansions became much more demographically successful.

Arabia was an important corridor between Africa and Eurasia. During humid climatic periods, lakes, grasslands, and river systems expanded across areas that are desert today. Archaeological discoveries show that humans repeatedly entered southwest Asia during these favorable environmental windows.

Ancient DNA and a New View of Population History

Ancient DNA has dramatically changed the study of migration because it allows researchers to analyze people who lived before modern population boundaries developed. Earlier models often assumed that contemporary populations were direct descendants of ancient inhabitants of the same regions. Ancient genomes have frequently shown that this assumption is incorrect.

Population replacement and mixture occurred repeatedly. The ancestry of present-day populations commonly reflects several prehistoric groups that lived in different places and migrated at different times. Ancient DNA can identify genetic relationships among those populations, estimate when mixtures occurred, and reveal movements that left little archaeological evidence.

Ancient genomes have also demonstrated extensive interaction between Homo sapiens and archaic humans. Early modern humans entering Eurasia encountered Neanderthals, and some individuals living more than 40,000 years ago had Neanderthal ancestors only a few generations earlier. Neanderthal ancestry survives today in many populations descended from ancient Eurasian peoples.

Paleogenomics has therefore shifted the basic model of human history away from isolated populations and toward networks of migration and mixture. Mobility was not unusual. It was one of the principal processes through which human populations formed.

Europe and the Eurasian Steppe

Europe experienced numerous large-scale demographic transformations. Early Homo sapiens arrived more than 40,000 years ago and encountered Neanderthals before eventually becoming the continent's only surviving human species. Ice Age climatic changes repeatedly altered the distribution of populations, producing contractions into refugia followed by renewed expansions.

One of Europe's most important later transformations began with the spread of agriculture from Anatolia and the Near East. Ancient DNA demonstrates that farming was carried into much of Europe by migrating populations rather than solely through the transmission of agricultural knowledge to indigenous hunter-gatherers. These incoming farmers subsequently mixed with local populations to varying degrees.

Another major transformation occurred during the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, when steppe pastoralists expanded westward from the Pontic-Caspian region. Their migration substantially altered the ancestry of many European populations and has been associated with the spread of Indo-European languages.

Later migrations continued through the Iron Age, Roman period, Migration Period, Viking Age, and medieval era. Ancient genomes document movements associated with Germanic populations, Anglo-Saxon settlement in Britain, Viking expansion, Slavic migrations, and movements between Scandinavia and surrounding regions.

The Eurasian steppe was particularly important as a migration corridor. Pastoral populations repeatedly moved across enormous distances connecting Europe, Central Asia, Siberia, Mongolia, and East Asia. Horses, mobile herding economies, and later political confederations facilitated long-distance movement across this region.

West, Central, South, and East Asia

West Asia served both as an early corridor for Homo sapiens dispersal and as a later center of agricultural and demographic expansion. Ancient DNA from Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, the Zagros Mountains, Iran, and the Caucasus reveals genetically differentiated populations that interacted repeatedly.

The origins and spread of farming involved both migration and local adoption. Early farmers were not one genetically homogeneous population. Communities in Anatolia, Iran, and the Levant had different ancestries, followed by increasing interaction and mixture as agricultural societies expanded.

Central Asia became one of the world's most important zones of population exchange. Steppe pastoralists, Iranian-related populations, Siberian groups, and East Asian populations repeatedly migrated and mixed there. Ancient genomes associated with the Xiongnu, Avars, and other mobile societies illustrate the enormous geographic scale of Eurasian migration.

South Asia likewise reflects several major ancestry components resulting from ancient movements and mixtures. Ancient genomic research has investigated relationships among South Asian hunter-gatherers, populations related to ancient Iranian groups, Indus Valley populations, and later steppe pastoralists.

East Asian population history was also highly dynamic. Ancient genomes from China reveal differentiation between northern and southern populations followed by extensive migration and mixture, particularly after the development and spread of agriculture.

Japan preserves evidence of multiple ancestry layers. Jomon hunter-gatherers were later joined by continental migrants associated with the Yayoi agricultural transition and subsequent population movements during the Kofun period. Genetic research increasingly supports a model of several major contributions to the ancestry of present-day Japanese populations.

Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Pacific

Modern humans reached Southeast Asia tens of thousands of years ago, and archaeological evidence suggests that some dispersals occurred considerably earlier than once assumed. Humans subsequently crossed maritime barriers and reached Sahul, the combined Ice Age landmass of Australia and New Guinea.

The settlement of Australia represents one of the earliest major long-distance expansions of Homo sapiens outside Africa. Aboriginal Australian populations subsequently developed deep regional population structure and long-term continuity.

Southeast Asia later experienced additional migrations associated with farming populations moving southward from East Asia. Ancient genomes demonstrate repeated interaction between indigenous hunter-gatherers and incoming agricultural populations.

Austronesian expansion became one of history's most extensive maritime migration processes. Populations ultimately connected with Taiwan and Island Southeast Asia spread across thousands of kilometers of ocean into the Philippines, Indonesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, and Remote Oceania.

The Pacific was not settled through a single migration. Ancient genomes from Vanuatu, Guam, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and other islands reveal repeated population movements and admixture. Lapita-associated populations were followed in many areas by additional migrations carrying Papuan-related ancestry.

Genomic evidence also indicates contact between Polynesian and Indigenous American populations before European colonization. This demonstrates that even extremely remote oceanic populations participated in long-distance interaction.

Peopling of the Americas

The settlement of the Americas represents one of the final major stages of the worldwide expansion of Homo sapiens. Genetic evidence connects the founding populations of the Americas primarily with northeast Asian and Siberian ancestors.

Populations ancestral to Indigenous Americans appear to have experienced a period of isolation associated with Beringia before expanding into the Americas. After entering regions south of the continental ice sheets, humans spread rapidly across North America and eventually into Central and South America.

Ancient DNA demonstrates that the process was more complex than a single migration followed by uninterrupted continuity. Early populations branched into different lineages, and later migrations created additional population structure. Ancient genomes from Alaska, Montana, Nevada, the Pacific Northwest, Central America, the Andes, and South America reveal both continuity and substantial movement.

The Arctic experienced additional migration events distinct from those associated with the earliest settlement of the Americas. Paleo-Eskimo populations entered northern North America thousands of years after the original settlement, followed later by ancestors of modern Inuit populations.

The Caribbean was also populated through several migrations. Ancient genomes show population movement from mainland South America into the islands, later population replacement and admixture, and substantial interaction among Caribbean communities.

South American genomic evidence likewise reveals long-distance mobility. Ancient populations of the Andes, Amazonian regions, Pacific coast, southern cone, and other areas developed distinctive histories while remaining connected through migration and gene flow.

Migration, Farming, Pastoralism, and Cultural Change

Ancient migration frequently accompanied major changes in subsistence. The spread of farming provides one of the clearest examples. Agricultural practices sometimes spread through the movement of farmers themselves and sometimes through adoption by neighboring hunter-gatherers.

European farming expansion involved extensive migration from Anatolia and southeastern Europe. In other regions, however, cultural transmission could occur without equivalent population replacement. The Baltic, parts of Africa, and portions of the Near East provide examples in which cultural and biological change did not always proceed together.

Pastoralism also promoted mobility. Herding societies could travel across landscapes less suitable for intensive agriculture, contributing to long-distance movements across eastern Africa, the Eurasian steppe, Central Asia, and other regions.

Bantu-speaking agricultural populations expanded across large areas of sub-Saharan Africa, profoundly influencing the linguistic and genetic landscape of the continent. Their expansion involved migration and mixture with indigenous hunter-gatherer populations rather than the complete disappearance of all earlier ancestry.

The history of cultural change therefore cannot be reduced to either migration or idea transmission alone. Different regions experienced different combinations of migration, mixture, replacement, continuity, and cultural exchange.

Climate, Geography, and Migration Routes

Climate strongly influenced when and where ancient populations could migrate. Wet climatic phases opened corridors through Arabia and the Sahara, while glacial periods altered coastlines, vegetation zones, freshwater availability, and the distribution of animals.

Lower sea levels during Ice Age periods connected regions that are separated by water today. Beringia linked northeast Asia and Alaska, while Sahul connected Australia and New Guinea. Elsewhere, narrow maritime crossings still required deliberate sea travel.

Coastal environments may have provided important migration pathways because they offered relatively predictable food resources. Proposed coastal routes are particularly important in discussions of the expansion from southern Asia toward Sahul and the initial settlement of the Americas.

Geographic barriers did not permanently isolate human populations. Mountains, deserts, oceans, and steppe environments could restrict movement during some periods while becoming corridors during others as climate, technology, subsistence, and social organization changed.

Migration, Admixture, and Human Diversity

One of the clearest lessons from ancient DNA is that human populations have rarely remained completely isolated. Genetic ancestry repeatedly crossed geographic, cultural, and linguistic boundaries.

Admixture occurred among different Homo sapiens populations and between modern humans and archaic groups. Population mixture often followed migration, trade, conquest, marriage, pastoral expansion, or the movement of agricultural communities.

Present-day populations therefore generally descend from numerous ancient populations rather than a single unchanging ancestral group. Even societies that experienced long periods of regional continuity often show evidence of earlier or later gene flow.

Ancient migration helps explain why human biological variation is distributed gradually and unevenly across geography rather than fitting into sharply separated biological divisions. Human population history is characterized by branching followed repeatedly by renewed contact and mixture.

Conclusion

Ancient human migration was one of the central forces shaping human history. Homo sapiens emerged within a structured African population landscape and subsequently expanded through Africa, Arabia, Eurasia, Southeast Asia, Sahul, the Pacific, and the Americas. These movements occurred in multiple waves rather than through one simple sequence.

Ancient DNA has shown that migration continued long after the first settlement of each continent. Farming populations expanded into territories occupied by hunter-gatherers, steppe pastoralists crossed Eurasia, African agricultural and pastoral populations transformed regional demographic patterns, Austronesian-speaking peoples crossed enormous stretches of ocean, and populations repeatedly moved throughout the Americas.

Migration rarely meant complete replacement or complete continuity. More commonly, populations moved, met others, exchanged ideas, intermarried, separated, and mixed again. Climate, geography, technology, subsistence, and social organization all influenced these processes.

The growing ancient-genome record therefore presents human history not as a collection of isolated populations but as a continuously changing network of movement and interaction. Modern human diversity is the product of this long history of dispersal, adaptation, admixture, persistence, and repeated migration.

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General, Global Patterns, and Ancient-DNA Methods

David Reich on Migration, Mixed Ancestries, and Ancient DNA

| Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences | Harvard University | 2026-07-07 Explains how large ancient-genome datasets reveal migration, mixture, and population turnover as recurring features of human history.

Ancient DNA and Neanderthals

| Smithsonian Human Origins Program | Smithsonian Institution | 2026 Explains how Neanderthal and modern-human DNA reveals repeated contact, interbreeding, and migrations between Africa and Eurasia.

Homo erectus

| Smithsonian Human Origins Program | Smithsonian Institution | 2026 Reviews Homo erectus, generally regarded as the first human species to expand widely beyond Africa into parts of Asia.

Homo sapiens

| Smithsonian Human Origins Program | Smithsonian Institution | 2026 Provides an overview of Homo sapiens evolution in Africa and the later worldwide geographic expansion of our species.

Ancient DNA as a Temporal Lens: Reconstructing Evolution, Migration, and Disease Dynamics

| Abang Ulrich Akwo, Julius Luvanga and Ketonze Valademy Ketu | Journal of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology | 2026 Reviews how paleogenomics has transformed reconstruction of ancient migrations, admixture with archaic humans, adaptation, and population replacement.

Origins and Genetic Legacy of Prehistoric Dogs Can Illuminate Human Migration

| Anders Bergström et al. | Science | 2020 Ancient dog genomes provide an independent proxy for movements of human groups across Eurasia and into the Americas.

Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past

| David Reich | Science | 2018 Reviews how ancient genomes have transformed understanding of repeated migration, population replacement, and admixture throughout human prehistory.

Revising the Story of the Dispersal of Modern Humans Across Eurasia

| Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History | Max Planck Society | 2017-12-07 Reviews evidence that Homo sapiens left Africa in multiple dispersals and interacted with other hominin populations across Eurasia.

Reconstructing Migration Trajectories Using Ancient DNA

| Greger Larson | University of Oxford | 2017-07-06 Discusses how ancient DNA can reconstruct migration pathways and uses archaeological animals as proxies for human movement into Europe and the Pacific.

Genomic Analyses Inform on Migration Events During the Peopling of Eurasia

| Luca Pagani et al. | Nature | 2016-09-21 Hundreds of high-coverage genomes reveal population splits, migrations, and possible traces of early dispersals during the settlement of Eurasia.

Long-Distance Dispersal Shaped Patterns of Human Genetic Diversity in Eurasia

| Mathias Currat et al. | Molecular Biology and Evolution | 2016 Modeling suggests that occasional long-distance migration played an important role in shaping genetic diversity during the settlement of Eurasia.

Ancient DNA Studies and the Reconstruction of Human Migration

| M. Thomas P. Gilbert and Eske Willerslev | Nature Reviews Genetics | 2015 Reviews methodological developments that allow ancient genomes to directly test archaeological models of human mobility and ancestry.

Ancient DNA: Methods and Applications

| Ludovic Orlando et al. | Nature Reviews Methods | 2015 Explains how ancient DNA is recovered and analyzed and how it can reveal population migration, admixture, and replacement.

The Impact of Whole-Genome Sequencing on the Reconstruction of Human Population History

| Krishna R. Veeramah and Michael F. Hammer | Nature Reviews Genetics | 2014-02-04 Reviews genomic approaches for reconstructing migrations, population splits, admixture, bottlenecks, and interactions with archaic humans.

The Great Human Expansion

| Brenna M. Henn, L. L. Cavalli-Sforza and Marcus W. Feldman | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2012 Reviews genetic evidence for rapid human demographic expansion from Africa across Eurasia and eventually into Australia and the Americas.

Learning About Human Population History from Ancient and Modern Genomes

| Montgomery Slatkin and Fernando Racimo | Nature Reviews Genetics | 2011 Explains how genomic data can test competing models of ancient dispersal, population subdivision, and archaic admixture.

Inferring the Deep Past from Molecular Data

| Alan R. Templeton | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2009 Discusses genetic approaches for reconstructing ancient human expansion, migration, population subdivision, and admixture.

The Great Human Migration

| Smithsonian Magazine | Smithsonian Magazine | 2008 Provides a broad account of how fossil, archaeological, and genetic evidence has been used to reconstruct the global dispersal of Homo sapiens from Africa.

Africa, Arabia, and Out-of-Africa Dispersals

Ancient Human DNA from North Africa Reveals Hidden History of the Sahara

| James Ashworth | Natural History Museum | 2025-04-07 Describes ancient DNA from Takarkori in Libya and evidence for long-lived North African populations during the Green Sahara.

Major Expansion in the Human Niche Preceded Out of Africa Dispersal

| Eleanor M. L. Scerri et al. | Nature | 2025 Shows that Homo sapiens began exploiting a substantially wider range of African environments before the major successful dispersal beyond Africa roughly 50,000 years ago.

Ancient DNA from the Green Sahara Reveals Ancestral North African Lineage

| Nada Salem et al. | Nature | 2025 Genomes from approximately 7,000-year-old Takarkori individuals in Libya reveal a deeply rooted North African lineage and suggest pastoralism spread partly through cultural transmission rather than mass migration.

9,000 Years of Genetic Continuity in Southernmost Africa Demonstrated at Oakhurst Rockshelter

| Victoria E. Gibbon et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2024 Reveals unusually long genetic continuity among southern African hunter-gatherers before later pastoralist and farming migrations transformed regional ancestry.

Charting a Path Forward for Population Genetics and Ancient DNA Research in Africa

| Elizabeth Sawchuk et al. | American Journal of Human Genetics | 2024 Reviews major advances and remaining gaps in African ancient-DNA research, including the study of migration and population interaction.

The Genetic Legacy of the Expansion of Bantu-Speaking Peoples in Africa

| Etienne Patin et al. | Nature | 2023-11-29 Uses modern and ancient genomes to trace the major Bantu-associated demographic expansion from western Africa across much of sub-Saharan Africa.

Ancient DNA Illuminates How Humans Travelled and Interacted in Stone Age Africa

| Nature Research Briefing | Nature | 2022-02-23 Describes ancient-DNA evidence revealing changing mobility, regionalization, and interaction among Late Pleistocene and Holocene African foragers.

Ancient DNA and Deep Population Structure in Sub-Saharan African Foragers

| Mark Lipson et al. | Nature | 2022-02-23 Ancient genomes reveal long-standing population structure and changing patterns of mobility and interaction among African hunter-gatherers.

Genetics and Material Culture Support Repeated Expansions into Paleolithic Eurasia from a Population Hub Out of Africa

| Leonardo Vallini et al. | Genome Biology and Evolution | 2022 Integrates archaeology and genetics to propose repeated Homo sapiens expansions from a population hub established after the principal migration out of Africa.

Green Arabia and Human Dispersal

| Huw S. Groucutt et al. | Nature | 2021 Archaeological evidence from ancient Arabian lake deposits documents repeated hominin migrations into Arabia during humid climatic phases.

Ancient West African Foragers in the Context of African Population History

| Mark Lipson et al. | Nature | 2020-01-22 Ancient genomes from Shum Laka in Cameroon reveal deeply divergent African ancestry and complex population relationships preceding later migrations.

African Population History: An Ancient DNA Perspective

| Mário Vicente and Carina M. Schlebusch | Current Opinion in Genetics & Development | 2020 Reviews ancient-DNA evidence for deep population structure, hunter-gatherer interactions, agricultural expansions, and migration throughout Africa.

Ancient Genomes Reveal Complex Patterns of Population Movement, Interaction, and Replacement in Sub-Saharan Africa

| Ke Wang et al. | Science Advances | 2020 Ancient genomes from eastern, central, and southern Africa reveal migrations of pastoralists and farmers alongside contraction of previously widespread hunter-gatherer populations.

Environmental Context of Paleolithic Human Dispersals in Arabia

| Mathew Stewart et al. | Science Advances | 2020 Reconstructs changing Arabian environments that alternately opened and closed corridors for human migration between Africa and Eurasia.

Ancient DNA Reveals a Multistep Spread of the First Herders into Sub-Saharan Africa

| Mary E. Prendergast et al. | Science | 2019 Genetic evidence supports several migrations of pastoralist populations into eastern Africa followed by admixture with indigenous foragers.

Ancient DNA Reveals the Origins of the First Neolithic Farmers in Africa

| Elizabeth Sawchuk et al. | Scientific Reports | 2019 Examines population interactions associated with the spread of food production and changing mobility patterns in prehistoric Africa.

Homo sapiens in Arabia by 85,000 Years Ago

| Huw S. Groucutt et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2018 A human finger bone from Saudi Arabia demonstrates that early Homo sapiens dispersals reached deep into Arabia during humid climatic periods.

Ancient Genomes from North Africa Evidence Prehistoric Migrations to the Maghreb from Both the Levant and Europe

| Rosa Fregel et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2018 Shows that Neolithic North Africa received ancestry through prehistoric migration from both eastern Mediterranean and Iberian-European populations.

Pleistocene North African Genomes Link Near Eastern and Sub-Saharan African Human Populations

| Marieke van de Loosdrecht et al. | Science | 2018 Genomes from Taforalt Cave in Morocco reveal ancient connections between North African populations and both Near Eastern and sub-Saharan African ancestry.

Reconstructing Prehistoric African Population Structure

| Pontus Skoglund et al. | Cell | 2017-09-21 Ancient genomes demonstrate that hunter-gatherer ancestries once had much wider geographic distributions in eastern and southern Africa.

The Age of the Hominin Fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, and the Origins of the Middle Stone Age

| Daniel Richter et al. | Nature | 2017-06-08 Dating of Jebel Irhoud fossils to roughly 300,000 years ago supports a deep and geographically widespread African history for early Homo sapiens.

Southern African Ancient Genomes Estimate Modern Human Divergence to 350,000 to 260,000 Years Ago

| Carina M. Schlebusch et al. | Science | 2017 Ancient southern African genomes illuminate deep human population divergence and subsequent migrations and admixture within Africa.

Rethinking the Dispersal of Homo sapiens Out of Africa

| Christopher J. Bae, Katerina Douka and Michael D. Petraglia | Evolutionary Anthropology | 2017 Reviews fossil, archaeological, environmental, and genetic evidence showing that Homo sapiens dispersal from Africa involved repeated movements rather than one simple migration event.

Ancient DNA Reveals Population History of African Hunter-Gatherers

| Pontus Skoglund et al. | Science | 2017 Demonstrates that ancient hunter-gatherer populations once occupied much wider regions of Africa before later migrations altered population structure.

Climate Windows for Human Migration Out of Africa

| Jessica E. Tierney et al. | Nature Communications | 2017 Examines climatic conditions that periodically opened migration corridors between Africa, Arabia, and Eurasia.

Human Dispersal Out of Africa: A Lasting Debate

| Hugo Reyes-Centeno | Evolutionary Bioinformatics | 2016 Reviews competing models concerning how many Homo sapiens dispersals occurred out of Africa and which routes early migrants followed.

Ancient Ethiopian Genome Reveals Extensive Eurasian Admixture Throughout the African Continent

| M. Gallego Llorente et al. | Science | 2015 The Mota genome provides evidence for prehistoric movement from western Eurasia back into the Horn of Africa.

Ancient Genome from Africa Sequenced for the First Time

| University of Cambridge | University of Cambridge | 2015 Discusses the Mota genome from Ethiopia and evidence for prehistoric Eurasian back-migration into eastern Africa.

Genomic and Cranial Phenotype Data Support Multiple Modern Human Dispersals from Africa

| Hugo Reyes-Centeno et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2014 Finds evidence consistent with multiple Homo sapiens dispersals from Africa, including an early southern migration route toward Asia and Australasia.

The First Modern Human Dispersals Across Africa

| Teresa Rito et al. | PLOS ONE | 2013 Uses mitochondrial genomes and climate history to reconstruct early movements of Homo sapiens between southern, central, and eastern Africa before the main Out-of-Africa expansion.

Genome-Wide Ancestries of North Africans Reveal Recent and Ancient Population Movements

| Brenna M. Henn et al. | PLOS Genetics | 2012 Reconstructs migrations connecting North Africa with sub-Saharan Africa, the Near East, and Europe over different periods of human history.

Human Population Dispersal “Out of Africa” Estimated from Linkage Disequilibrium and Allele Frequencies of SNPs

| Luke Jostins et al. | Genome Research | 2011 Uses genomic variation to reconstruct population splits, bottlenecks, and dispersal patterns associated with the expansion of humans beyond Africa.

Upper Pleistocene Human Dispersals Out of Africa: A Review of the Current State of the Debate

| Michael D. Petraglia et al. | International Journal of Evolutionary Biology | 2010 Reviews archaeological and genetic evidence concerning the timing, routes, and possible multiple waves of Homo sapiens dispersal from Africa into Eurasia.

Why Did Modern Human Populations Disperse from Africa ca. 60,000 Years Ago?

| Paul Mellars | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2006 Examines environmental, demographic, technological, and behavioral changes that may have enabled the major Late Pleistocene expansion of Homo sapiens beyond Africa.

Europe and the Mediterranean

Ancient DNA Unlocks New Understanding of Migrations in the First Millennium AD

| UCL News | University College London | 2025-01-02 Reports a genomic method that resolves closely related populations and reveals previously hidden migration patterns across first-millennium Europe.

Ancient DNA Connects Large-Scale Migration with the Spread of Slavs

| Joscha Gretzinger et al. | Nature | 2025 Ancient genomes document large-scale population movements from Eastern Europe associated with the spread of Slavic populations during the early medieval period.

Modeling the European Neolithic Expansion Suggests Predominant Within-Group Mating

| Troy M. LaPolice et al. | Nature Communications | 2025 Uses ancient DNA and demographic modeling to distinguish migration-driven expansion from cultural transmission during the spread of farming.

Earliest Modern Human Genomes Constrain Timing of Neanderthal Admixture

| Arev Sümer et al. | Nature | 2024-12-12 Genomes from some of Europe’s earliest modern humans help date the major episode of Neanderthal admixture associated with the expansion of Homo sapiens outside Africa.

Ancient Migration and the Modern Genome

| Michael Attwaters | Nature Reviews Genetics | 2024-02-05 Summarizes how major prehistoric migrations of hunter-gatherers, farmers, and steppe pastoralists shaped the ancestry of present-day Europeans.

The Ecology, Subsistence and Diet of ~45,000-Year-Old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany

| Geoff M. Smith et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2024-01-31 Evidence from Ranis shows that early modern-human migrants successfully occupied cold northern European environments around 45,000 years ago.

Stable Isotopes Show Homo sapiens Dispersed into Cold Steppes ~45,000 Years Ago at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany

| Sarah Pederzani et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2024-01-31 Isotopic evidence indicates that early Homo sapiens entering Europe were capable of living in harsh cold-steppe environments.

Ancient DNA Reveals Traces of Elusive First Humans in Europe

| Nature Research Highlight | Nature | 2023-10-23 Discusses evidence from ancient genomes showing that ancestry from some of Europe’s earliest Homo sapiens survived in later Paleolithic populations.

Palaeogenomics of Upper Palaeolithic to Neolithic European Hunter-Gatherers

| Cosimo Posth et al. | Nature | 2023-03-01 Analysis of hundreds of ancient genomes reveals repeated population movements, refugia, replacements, and expansions across Ice Age and postglacial Europe.

Ancient DNA Reveals Admixture History and Endogamy in the Prehistoric Aegean

| Eirini Skourtanioti et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2023-01-16 Genomic data from Crete, mainland Greece, and the Aegean islands reveal migrations, admixture, and changing marriage practices from the Neolithic through the Iron Age.

Ancient DNA Reveals a Genetic History of the Viking Age

| Will Sullivan | Smithsonian Magazine | 2023-01-10 Reviews genomic evidence for extensive migration both out of and into Scandinavia during the Viking Age.

The Genetic History of Scandinavia from the Roman Iron Age to the Present

| Ricardo Rodríguez-Varela et al. | Cell | 2023-01-05 Ancient genomes reveal repeated migration into Scandinavia from the British-Irish Isles, eastern Baltic, southern Europe, and other regions.

Genome Sequences of 36,000- to 37,000-Year-Old Modern Humans at Buran-Kaya III in Crimea

| Eva A. Bennett et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2023 Ancient genomes from Crimea document a population movement into Europe after 40,000 years ago and genetic links with later Gravettian groups.

Hunter-Gatherer Admixture Facilitated Natural Selection in Neolithic European Farmers

| Laura M. Cassidy et al. | Current Biology | 2023 Demonstrates extensive biological interaction between incoming Neolithic farmers and European hunter-gatherers following farmer migration.

The Anglo-Saxon Migration and the Formation of the Early English Gene Pool

| Joscha Gretzinger et al. | Nature | 2022-09-21 Hundreds of ancient genomes demonstrate substantial migration across the North Sea into England following the end of Roman rule.

Ancient DNA Reveals Details About Early Medieval Migration into England

| Nature Research Briefing | Nature | 2022-09-21 Summarizes genomic evidence for large-scale migration from continental northern Europe into early medieval England.

Initial Upper Palaeolithic Humans in Europe Had Recent Neanderthal Ancestry

| Mateja Hajdinjak et al. | Nature | 2021-04-07 Genome-wide data from early Homo sapiens at Bacho Kiro Cave reveal recent Neanderthal ancestors and illuminate some of the earliest modern-human migrations into Europe.

A Genome Sequence from a Modern Human Skull Over 45,000 Years Old from Zlatý kůň in Czechia

| Kay Prüfer et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2021-04-07 The Zlatý kůň genome represents one of the earliest known Eurasian populations following the major modern-human expansion out of Africa.

Large-Scale Migration into Britain During the Middle to Late Bronze Age

| Nick Patterson et al. | Nature | 2021 Ancient DNA reveals substantial migration from continental Europe into Britain during the Middle and Late Bronze Age.

Ancient Genomes Reveal Structural Shifts After the Arrival of Steppe-Related Ancestry in the Italian Peninsula

| Tina Saupe et al. | Current Biology | 2021 Ancient genomes identify the arrival and increasing influence of steppe-related ancestry in prehistoric Italy during the Bronze Age.

The Genomic History of the Aegean Palatial Civilizations

| Florian Clemente et al. | Cell | 2021 Genomic evidence documents ancestry from Neolithic farmers, Caucasus-related populations, and steppe-related migrants in Bronze Age Aegean societies.

My Great Grandpa Is a Neanderthal

| Smithsonian Human Origins Program | Smithsonian Institution | 2021 Explains evidence from some of Europe’s earliest Homo sapiens genomes showing that individuals had Neanderthal ancestors only a few generations earlier.

Population Genomics of the Viking World

| Ashot Margaryan et al. | Nature | 2020-09-16 Genomes from Viking Age burials trace Scandinavian migrations into Britain, Ireland, the Baltic, Greenland, and elsewhere while documenting migration into Scandinavia itself.

Initial Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens from Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria

| Jean-Jacques Hublin et al. | Nature | 2020-05-11 Fossils and archaeological material link the Initial Upper Paleolithic with Homo sapiens dispersing into Europe more than 45,000 years ago.

Genetic History from the Middle Neolithic to Present on the Mediterranean Island of Sardinia

| Joseph H. Marcus et al. | Nature Communications | 2020-02-24 Ancient DNA records periods of isolation as well as later Phoenician, Punic, Roman, and other Mediterranean migrations into Sardinia.

Ancient Genomes from Present-Day France Unveil 7,000 Years of Its Demographic History

| Samantha Brunel et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2020 Ancient DNA traces migrations of Anatolian-derived farmers and later steppe-related populations across prehistoric France.

Apidima Cave Fossils Provide Earliest Evidence of Homo sapiens in Eurasia

| Katerina Harvati et al. | Nature | 2019-07-10 Analysis of Greek fossils provides evidence for an early Homo sapiens dispersal into Eurasia considerably earlier than later successful expansions.

The Genomic History of the Iberian Peninsula Over the Past 8000 Years

| Iñigo Olalde et al. | Science | 2019-03-15 Reconstructs migrations into Iberia involving farmers, steppe-descended populations, North Africans, and later Mediterranean peoples.

Ancient Genomes Indicate Population Replacement in Early Neolithic Britain

| Selina Brace et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2019 Shows that farming reached Britain largely through migration of continental European farmers rather than adoption of agriculture by local hunter-gatherers.

The Genomic History of Southeastern Europe

| Iain Mathieson et al. | Nature | 2018-02-21 Ancient genomes reveal southeastern Europe as a major migration corridor linking Anatolian farmers, European hunter-gatherers, and steppe populations.

The Beaker Phenomenon and the Genomic Transformation of Northwest Europe

| Iñigo Olalde et al. | Nature | 2018-02-21 Shows that Bell Beaker culture spread through different combinations of cultural transmission and migration, including major population replacement in Britain.

The Genetic Prehistory of the Baltic Sea Region

| Alissa Mittnik et al. | Nature Communications | 2018 Shows that Scandinavia was settled by hunter-gatherers through more than one route and later experienced migrations of farmers and steppe pastoralists.

Ancient Genomes Show Social and Reproductive Behavior of Early Upper Paleolithic Foragers

| Martin Sikora et al. | Science | 2017 Genomes from Sunghir in Russia provide insight into mobility, social organization, and mating networks among Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers.

Parallel Palaeogenomic Transects Reveal Complex Genetic History of Early European Farmers

| Mark Lipson et al. | Nature | 2017 Ancient genomes from Hungary, Germany, and Spain trace farmer migration and increasing admixture with European hunter-gatherers.

The Neolithic Transition in the Baltic Was Not Driven by Admixture with Early European Farmers

| Eppie R. Jones et al. | Current Biology | 2017 Shows that some northern European hunter-gatherers adopted new technologies without the large-scale farmer migration seen elsewhere in Europe.

Genetic Origins of the Minoans and Mycenaeans

| Iosif Lazaridis et al. | Nature | 2017 Ancient genomes reveal both continuity and population movements linking Bronze Age Aegean peoples with Anatolia, the Caucasus, and eastern Europe.

The Genetic History of Ice Age Europe

| Qiaomei Fu et al. | Nature | 2016-05-02 Genomes spanning roughly 45,000 to 7,000 years reveal repeated population replacement, refugial expansion, and migration across prehistoric Europe.

Neolithic and Bronze Age Migration to Ireland and Establishment of the Insular Atlantic Genome

| Lara M. Cassidy et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2016 Whole genomes from prehistoric Ireland reveal separate migrations of early farmers and later steppe-related Bronze Age populations.

An Early Modern Human from Romania with a Recent Neanderthal Ancestor

| Qiaomei Fu et al. | Nature | 2015-06-22 The Peştera cu Oase genome reveals recent Neanderthal ancestry in an early modern human belonging to a migration that contributed little to later Europeans.

Massive Migration from the Steppe Was a Source for Indo-European Languages in Europe

| Wolfgang Haak et al. | Nature | 2015-03-02 Ancient DNA demonstrates a major migration from the Pontic-Caspian steppe into central Europe during the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age.

Upper Palaeolithic Genomes Reveal Deep Roots of Modern Eurasians

| Andaine Seguin-Orlando et al. | Nature Communications | 2015 Upper Paleolithic genomes illuminate early population structure and connections among European and Eurasian hunter-gatherers.

Ancient Human Genomes Suggest Three Ancestral Populations for Present-Day Europeans

| Iosif Lazaridis et al. | Nature | 2014-09-17 Shows that European ancestry reflects mixtures among western hunter-gatherers, early Near Eastern farmers, and Ancient North Eurasians.

Genome Flux and Stasis in a Five-Millennium Transect of European Prehistory

| Cristina Gamba et al. | Nature Communications | 2014 Ancient Hungarian genomes reveal major population changes accompanying the Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age.

Population Genomic Analysis of Ancient and Modern Genomes Yields New Insights into the Genetic Ancestry of the Tyrolean Iceman

| Martin Sikora et al. | Current Biology | 2014 Uses the Iceman genome to investigate ancestry associated with the migration of Neolithic farmers into central Europe.

Ancient DNA Reveals Key Stages in the Formation of Central European Mitochondrial Genetic Diversity

| Guido Brandt et al. | Science | 2013 Mitochondrial genomes document successive population changes associated with farming, Corded Ware, and Bell Beaker expansions.

Ancient DNA Reveals Lack of Continuity Between Neolithic Hunter-Gatherers and Contemporary Scandinavians

| Helena Malmström et al. | Current Biology | 2009 Early ancient-DNA evidence showed that demographic replacement played an important role in Scandinavian population history.

West Asia, the Caucasus, and the Fertile Crescent

Ancient DNA Indicates 3,000 Years of Genetic Continuity in the Northern Iranian Plateau

| Mahsa Vahidi et al. | Scientific Reports | 2025 Finds substantial continuity in northern Iran alongside enduring genetic contacts connecting the Iranian Plateau with western and South-Central Asia.

The Persian Plateau Served as Hub for Homo sapiens After the Main Out of Africa Dispersal

| Leonardo Vallini et al. | Nature Communications | 2024 Proposes that populations remained for thousands of years in a Persian Plateau hub before expanding more broadly across Eurasia about 45,000 years ago.

Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia Suggests Distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic Migrations into Anatolia

| Iosif Lazaridis et al. | Science | 2022 Identifies at least two separate migration pulses from the Fertile Crescent into Anatolia during the development of early farming societies.

The Genetic History of the Southern Arc: A Bridge Between West Asia and Europe

| Iosif Lazaridis et al. | Science | 2022 Uses hundreds of ancient genomes to reconstruct migration and admixture across Anatolia, Armenia, the Balkans, and surrounding regions.

A Genetic Probe into the Ancient and Medieval History of Southern Europe and West Asia

| Iosif Lazaridis et al. | Science | 2022 Tracks population movement across the Mediterranean, Balkans, Anatolia, and Caucasus from prehistoric through medieval times.

The Genomic History of the Middle East

| Mohamed A. Almarri et al. | Cell | 2021-08-04 Reconstructs population splits, migrations, bottlenecks, and admixture across Arabia and the Levant using high-coverage genomes.

Human Mobility at Tell Atchana During the Second Millennium BC

| Ekin Kozal et al. | PLOS ONE | 2021 Combines ancient DNA and isotope evidence to investigate migration and individual mobility at the Bronze Age city of Alalakh in southern Anatolia.

Genomic History of Neolithic to Bronze Age Anatolia, Northern Levant, and Southern Caucasus

| Eirini Skourtanioti et al. | Cell | 2020-05-28 Ancient genomes document local continuity, admixture, and long-distance migration across Anatolia, the Levant, and Caucasus over several millennia.

The Genomic History of the Bronze Age Southern Levant

| Lily Agranat-Tamir et al. | Cell | 2020 Ancient genomes reveal migration into the southern Levant from populations related to the Caucasus and Zagros during the Bronze Age.

Late Pleistocene Human Genome Suggests a Local Origin for the First Farmers of Central Anatolia

| Michal Feldman et al. | Nature Communications | 2019 Finds strong genetic continuity between Anatolian hunter-gatherers and early farmers while detecting additional gene flow from Iran, the Caucasus, and Levant.

The Genetic Prehistory of the Greater Caucasus

| Chuan-Chao Wang et al. | Nature Communications | 2019 Reconstructs migrations, admixture, and population interactions across the Caucasus and neighboring Eurasian steppe during the Eneolithic and Bronze Age.

Genomic Insights into the Origin of Farming in the Ancient Near East

| Iosif Lazaridis et al. | Nature | 2016 Ancient genomes reveal genetically differentiated early farming populations and subsequent migrations and mixtures across the Near East and Europe.

The Demographic Development of the First Farmers in Anatolia

| Eirini Kılınç et al. | Current Biology | 2016 Shows how local Anatolian populations changed genetically before their descendants expanded westward and contributed strongly to Europe's first farming populations.

Early Neolithic Genomes from the Eastern Fertile Crescent

| Farnaz Broushaki et al. | Science | 2016 Ancient Zagros genomes reveal that some of the world's earliest farmers belonged to populations distinct from contemporary western Anatolian farmers.

The Genetic Structure of the World's First Farmers

| Iosif Lazaridis et al. | bioRxiv | 2016 Early genomic analyses show that farming emerged among genetically differentiated Near Eastern populations that later mixed through migration.

Eurasian Steppe, Central Asia, and South Asia

Ancient Genomes from Ladakh Reveal 2,800-Year-Old Admixture Between Tibetans and South Asians

| Nathan Nakatsuka et al. | Science Advances | 2026 Ancient genomes from the high Himalayas reveal long-term population interaction between Tibetan-related groups and populations related to northern South Asians.

Genetic and Geographical Origins of Eurasia’s Influential Yamna Culture

| Lehti Saag and Mait Metspalu | Nature | 2025-02-05 Discusses genomic evidence tracing the formation of the Yamna population and the subsequent migration of steppe pastoralists across large areas of Eurasia.

Ancient DNA Reveals Reproductive Barrier Despite Shared Avar-Period Culture

| Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone et al. | Nature | 2024 Examines descendants of migrants with East Asian ancestry who entered the Carpathian Basin and maintained distinctive ancestry for generations.

Genetic Population Structure of the Xiongnu Empire at Imperial and Local Scales

| Juhyeon Lee et al. | Science Advances | 2023 Ancient DNA shows that the Xiongnu Empire incorporated people with widely different eastern and western Eurasian ancestries.

Ancient Genomes Reveal Origin and Rapid Trans-Eurasian Migration of Seventh-Century Avar Elites

| Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone et al. | Cell | 2022 Demonstrates a remarkably rapid migration of Avar elites from the eastern Eurasian steppe to the Carpathian Basin.

The Genomic Origins of the Bronze Age Tarim Basin Mummies

| Fan Zhang et al. | Nature | 2021 Finds that early Tarim Basin inhabitants descended largely from an isolated Ancient North Eurasian-related population rather than recent western migrants.

A Dynamic 6,000-Year Genetic History of Eurasia’s Eastern Steppe

| Choongwon Jeong et al. | Cell | 2020 Hundreds of ancient genomes reveal repeated migrations and admixture among western and eastern Eurasian populations in Mongolia.

Ancient Genomes Illuminate the Genetic History of Early Nomadic Empires on the Eastern Steppe

| Juhyeon Lee et al. | Nature Communications | 2020 Examines migration and mixture among ancient pastoral populations associated with political transformations on the Mongolian steppe.

Ancient DNA from the Skeletons of Roopkund Lake Reveals Mediterranean Migrants in India

| Éadaoin Harney et al. | Nature Communications | 2019 Genomic analysis identifies distinct South Asian and eastern Mediterranean groups among human remains at a high-altitude Himalayan lake.

The Formation of Human Populations in South and Central Asia

| Vagheesh M. Narasimhan et al. | Science | 2019 A large ancient-DNA dataset reconstructs migrations among Iranian agriculturalists, South Asian hunter-gatherers, and Eurasian steppe pastoralists.

An Ancient Genome from the Indus Valley Civilization

| Vasant Shinde et al. | Cell | 2019 The first genome from an individual associated with the Indus civilization provides evidence about ancestry, farming, and later population mixture in South Asia.

An Ancient Harappan Genome Lacks Ancestry from Steppe Pastoralists or Iranian Farmers

| Vasant Shinde et al. | Cell | 2019 Shows that an Indus civilization individual belonged to a population important in the formation of later South Asian ancestry but predating steppe-related migration.

Peopling of India: Ancient DNA Perspectives

| Kumarasamy Thangaraj and Niraj Rai | Journal of Biosciences | 2019 Reviews genetic and archaeological evidence for multiple prehistoric population movements that contributed to the ancestry of the Indian subcontinent.

The Genomic Formation of Human Populations in Central Asia

| Choongwon Jeong et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2019 Reconstructs extensive migration and mixture among steppe pastoralists, Iranian-related groups, Siberians, and East Asians across Central Asia.

137 Ancient Human Genomes from Across the Eurasian Steppes

| Peter de Barros Damgaard et al. | Nature | 2018 Reconstructs thousands of years of migrations across the Eurasian steppe, including Scythian, Xiongnu, Hun, Turkic, and other population movements.

The First Horse Herders and the Impact of Early Bronze Age Steppe Expansions into Asia

| Peter de Barros Damgaard et al. | Science | 2018 Ancient genomes trace migrations associated with steppe pastoralism across Central Asia and clarify the ancestry of the Botai horse-herding population.

Bronze Age Population Dynamics and the Rise of Dairy Pastoralism on the Eastern Eurasian Steppe

| Christina Warinner et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2018 Ancient DNA and archaeological evidence link pastoralism in Mongolia with migrations and interactions among western steppe and local eastern Eurasian populations.

Population Genomics of Bronze Age Eurasia

| Morten E. Allentoft et al. | Nature | 2015-06-10 Genomes from more than 100 ancient individuals show that Bronze Age Eurasia experienced large-scale migrations and population replacements.

East Asia, Siberia, and Japan

Ancient Genomes Reveal Early-Stage Admixture in Northwestern Kyushu Yayoi

| Takashi Gakuhari et al. | Scientific Reports | 2026 Finds that Jomon descendants and people carrying continental ancestry coexisted during the early phases of Yayoi-period migration and admixture.

Human Dispersal into East Eurasia: Ancient Genome Insights and the Need for Research on Physiological Adaptations

| Steven Abood and Hiroki Oota | Journal of Physiological Anthropology | 2025-02-14 Reviews ancient genomic evidence for the settlement and population history of East Eurasia following the expansion of modern humans from Africa.

Multiple Human Population Movements Shaped Chinese Paternal Heritage

| Guanglin He et al. | Molecular Biology and Evolution | 2024 Y-chromosome data identify multiple prehistoric migrations associated with farming, technological change, and expansion across China.

Genetic Analysis of a Yayoi Individual from the Doigahama Site

| Kimihiro Adachi et al. | Journal of Human Genetics | 2024 A Yayoi-period genome provides evidence concerning the continental origins of migrants who entered Japan during the agricultural transition.

The Deep Population History of Northern East Asia from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene

| Xiaowei Mao et al. | Cell | 2021-05-27 Ancient genomes from the Amur region document changing populations before and after the Last Glacial Maximum and links with Paleo-Siberians and Native Americans.

Genomic Insights into the Formation of Human Populations in East Asia

| Chuan-Chao Wang et al. | Nature | 2021-02-22 Uses ancient genomes to reconstruct Late Pleistocene and Holocene migrations that contributed to populations across China, Mongolia, Siberia, Japan, Taiwan, and Tibet.

Ancient Genomics Reveals Tripartite Origins of Japanese Populations

| Niall P. Cooke et al. | Science Advances | 2021 Finds that modern Japanese ancestry derives from Jomon hunter-gatherers plus separate migration waves associated with Yayoi agriculture and later Kofun-period populations.

Ancient Genomes from Northern China Suggest Links Between Subsistence Changes and Human Migration

| Chuan-Chao Wang et al. | Nature Communications | 2020 Shows that changes in farming and pastoralism in northern China were repeatedly accompanied by population movements and admixture.

Ancient DNA Indicates Human Population Shifts and Admixture in Northern and Southern China

| Melinda A. Yang et al. | Science | 2020 Ancient genomes reveal distinct northern and southern East Asian populations followed by substantial migration and genetic mixture during the Neolithic.

Ancient Jomon Genome Sequence Analysis Sheds Light on Migration Patterns of Early East Asian Populations

| Hideaki Kanzawa-Kiriyama et al. | Communications Biology | 2020 A Jomon genome helps clarify deep population divisions and migration histories in East Asia and the Japanese archipelago.

The Population History of Northeastern Siberia Since the Pleistocene

| Martin Sikora et al. | Nature | 2019-06-05 Ancient genomes identify successive migrations of Ancient North Siberians, Paleo-Siberians, and Neo-Siberians and their connections to Native American ancestry.

Analysis of Whole Y-Chromosome Sequences Reveals Japanese Population History in the Jomon Period

| Hiroki Oota et al. | Scientific Reports | 2019 Uses paternal lineages to investigate demographic changes preceding and accompanying migration from continental Asia into prehistoric Japan.

40,000-Year-Old Individual from Asia Provides Insight into Early Population Structure in Eurasia

| Melinda A. Yang et al. | Current Biology | 2017-10-12 The Tianyuan Cave genome demonstrates that genetically differentiated eastern Eurasian populations were already established about 40,000 years ago.

Genome Sequence of a 45,000-Year-Old Modern Human from Western Siberia

| Qiaomei Fu et al. | Nature | 2014 The Ust’-Ishim genome provides a snapshot of an early Eurasian population and helps date Neanderthal admixture during the expansion outside Africa.

Upper Palaeolithic Siberian Genome Reveals Dual Ancestry of Native Americans

| Maanasa Raghavan et al. | Nature | 2013-11-20 The approximately 24,000-year-old Mal’ta genome reveals that Native American ancestry includes a substantial contribution from Ancient North Eurasians.

Southeast Asia, Sahul, and Island Southeast Asia

Early Presence of Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia by 86–68 kyr at Tam Pà Ling, Northern Laos

| Sarah E. Freidline et al. | Nature Communications | 2023-06-13 Fossils from Laos provide evidence for an early Homo sapiens dispersal into mainland Southeast Asia well before 60,000 years ago.

Ancient DNA from Protohistoric Period Cambodia Indicates that South Asians Admixed with Local Populations as Early as 1st–3rd Centuries CE

| Wibhu Kutanan et al. | Scientific Reports | 2023 Provides genomic evidence for early movement of South Asian people into mainland Southeast Asia and admixture with local populations.

Ancient Genomes from the Last Three Millennia Support Multiple Human Dispersals into Wallacea

| Sandra Oliveira et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2022 Ancient genomes reveal repeated migrations and admixture involving Papuan, Austronesian, and mainland Southeast Asian-related populations in Wallacea.

Human Population History at the Crossroads of East and Southeast Asia Since 11,000 Years Ago

| Tianyi Wang et al. | Cell | 2021 Ancient genomes from southern China reveal several deeply differentiated populations and widespread mixture before and after the development of agriculture.

Paleolithic Genetic Link Between Southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia Revealed by Ancient Mitochondrial Genomes

| Fan Bai et al. | Journal of Human Genetics | 2020-07-11 Ancient mitochondrial genomes provide evidence for human connections and possible migrations between southern China and mainland Southeast Asia during the Paleolithic.

The Prehistoric Peopling of Southeast Asia

| Hugh McColl et al. | Science | 2018 Ancient genomes reveal major migrations and admixture among indigenous hunter-gatherers and incoming East Asian-related farming populations.

Ancient Genomes Document Multiple Waves of Migration in Southeast Asian Prehistory

| Mark Lipson et al. | Science | 2018 Genomic data from Neolithic through Iron Age Southeast Asia demonstrate multiple population movements associated with farming and later demographic expansions.

Cranio-Morphometric and Ancient DNA Support for the Austronesian Dispersal Model in Indonesia

| Hirofumi Matsumura et al. | PLOS ONE | 2018 Skeletal and genetic evidence from Gua Harimau supports migration of Austronesian-associated populations into Island Southeast Asia.

An Early Modern Human Presence in Sumatra 73,000–63,000 Years Ago

| Kira E. Westaway et al. | Nature | 2017-08-09 Fossil teeth from Lida Ajer Cave indicate that Homo sapiens reached tropical Southeast Asia significantly earlier than many traditional migration models proposed.

Human Occupation of Northern Australia by 65,000 Years Ago

| Chris Clarkson et al. | Nature | 2017 Archaeological evidence from Madjedbebe places humans in northern Australia by about 65,000 years ago, with major implications for migration through Southeast Asia to Sahul.

A Genomic History of Aboriginal Australia

| Anna-Sapfo Malaspinas et al. | Nature | 2016 Genome-wide data illuminate the early settlement of Sahul, long-term Aboriginal population structure, and ancient connections with New Guinea.

Reconstructing Austronesian Population History in Island Southeast Asia

| Mark Lipson et al. | Nature Communications | 2014 Genomic evidence connects Austronesian-speaking populations to Taiwan while revealing additional mixture with mainland Southeast Asian populations.

Pacific and Remote Oceania

Ancient Genomes Reveal Distinct Human Dispersals in Western Remote Oceania

| Cosimo Posth et al. | Cell | 2026 Shows that Papuan-related ancestry reached western Fiji through multiple migration pulses after the first Lapita-associated settlement.

Human Dispersals and Local Interactions Shaped Coastal Papua New Guinea

| Kathrin Nägele et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2025 Forty-two ancient genomes document migration, delayed admixture, and regional population differentiation along Papua New Guinea's coast.

Ancient Rapanui Genomes Reveal Resilience and Pre-European Contact with Native Americans

| J. Víctor Moreno-Mayar et al. | Nature | 2024 Ancient genomes from Rapa Nui provide evidence concerning population size history and genetic contact between Polynesians and Native Americans.

Ancient DNA from Guam and the Peopling of the Pacific

| Irina Pugach et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2021 Ancient genomes from Guam indicate that the first Mariana Islanders were closely related to populations from the Philippines.

Genomic Insights into the Settlement of the Pacific

| Andrés Moreno-Estrada et al. | Nature | 2021 Genome-wide data reconstruct sequential settlement, founder events, and interactions across many islands of Remote Oceania.

Native American Gene Flow into Polynesia Predating Easter Island Settlement

| Alexander G. Ioannidis et al. | Nature | 2020 Detects Indigenous American ancestry in eastern Polynesians and argues that contact occurred before European arrival.

Population Turnover in Remote Oceania Shortly After Initial Settlement

| Mark Lipson et al. | Current Biology | 2018 Ancient genomes reveal substantial Papuan-related migration into Vanuatu after the initial Lapita-associated settlement of Remote Oceania.

Genomic Insights into the Peopling of the Southwest Pacific

| Pontus Skoglund et al. | Nature | 2016-10-03 Ancient genomes from Vanuatu and Tonga illuminate the migration of Lapita-associated peoples and subsequent Papuan admixture in Remote Oceania.

Americas, Arctic, Caribbean, and Andes

When Did Humans Arrive in the Americas? Lice Help Answer That Head-Scratcher

| Brian Handwerk | Smithsonian Magazine | 2023-11-08 Describes how genetic variation in human head lice provides an independent line of evidence for migrations into and within the Americas.

Ancient DNA Charts Native Americans’ Journeys to Asia Thousands of Years Ago

| Brian Handwerk | Smithsonian Magazine | 2023-01-12 Describes genomic evidence showing that prehistoric movement across the Bering Strait occurred in both directions.

Ancient Genomes from Uruguay Reveal Unexpected Ancestry

| John Lindo et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2022 Genomic evidence from prehistoric Uruguay identifies ancestry relationships not fully represented among present-day Indigenous South American groups.

Peopling of the Americas as Inferred from Ancient Genomics

| Eske Willerslev and David J. Meltzer | Nature | 2021-06-16 Reviews ancient genomic evidence for the initial peopling of the Americas, rapid dispersal south of the continental ice sheets, population branching, and later migrations.

Genomic Insights into the Early Peopling of the Caribbean

| Kendra A. Sirak et al. | Science | 2021 Ancient genomes reveal migrations, population replacements, and connections among different islands of the prehistoric Caribbean.

Genomic Evidence for Ancient Migration in the Southern Cone of South America

| Bastien Llamas et al. | Nature Communications | 2021 Ancient genomes illuminate migration, continuity, and population interactions across southern South America.

A Genetic History of the Pre-Contact Caribbean

| Daniel M. Fernandes et al. | Nature | 2020-12-23 Hundreds of ancient genomes reveal multiple migrations into the Caribbean and widespread replacement associated with Ceramic Age populations.

The Story of How Humans Came to the Americas Is Constantly Evolving

| Smithsonian Magazine | Smithsonian Magazine | 2020 Reviews changing archaeological and genetic models of Beringia, coastal migration, and the timing of the first settlement of the Americas.

Genomic History of Pre-Hispanic Populations of the Andes

| Nathan Nakatsuka et al. | Cell | 2020 Dense ancient genomic sampling reveals migration, population structure, and genetic interaction among societies throughout the central Andes.

Dual Ancestry of Paleo-Siberians and Native Americans

| Pavel Flegontov et al. | Science | 2019 Genomic analyses reveal complex relationships among Siberian peoples, Paleo-Eskimos, and Indigenous American populations.

The Paleo-Eskimo Genetic Legacy Across North America

| Pavel Flegontov et al. | Nature | 2019 Reveals widespread Paleo-Eskimo-related ancestry among Na-Dene-speaking peoples and reconstructs later interactions in northern North America.

Reconstructing the Deep Population History of Central and South America

| Cosimo Posth et al. | Cell | 2018-11-15 Ancient genomes reveal early rapid dispersal, population replacement, and previously unknown gene-flow events within Central and South America.

Ancient DNA Reveals Complex Migrations of the First Americans

| Michael Greshko | National Geographic | 2018-11-08 Summarizes genomic studies revealing previously unknown population movements, replacements, and adaptations among the first Americans.

Early Human Dispersals Within the Americas

| J. Víctor Moreno-Mayar et al. | Science | 2018 Ancient genomes trace rapid population branching and long-distance movement throughout North, Central, and South America.

Terminal Pleistocene Alaskan Genome Reveals First Founding Population of Native Americans

| J. Víctor Moreno-Mayar et al. | Nature | 2018 The Upward Sun River genomes identify an Ancient Beringian population branching near the base of Native American ancestry.

A 10,000-Year-Old Genome from Nevada Reveals the Deep Structure of Native American Populations

| J. Víctor Moreno-Mayar et al. | Science | 2018 The Spirit Cave genome strengthens evidence that early inhabitants of North America belonged to the ancestry of later Indigenous Americans.

A Paleogenomic Reconstruction of the Deep Population History of the Andes

| John Lindo et al. | Cell | 2018 Ancient genomes reveal early differentiation between highland and lowland Andean populations followed by later regional migrations.

The Genetic Prehistory of the Andean Highlands

| John Lindo et al. | Science Advances | 2018 Reconstructs settlement of high-altitude environments and subsequent population continuity and interaction in the Andes.

Ancient DNA Reconstructs the Genetic Legacies of Precontact Puerto Rico

| Hannes Schroeder et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2018 A precontact genome from the Bahamas-Caribbean region helps establish genetic links between Caribbean populations and northern South America.

Ancient DNA Analysis of Mid-Holocene Individuals from the Northwest Coast of North America

| John Lindo et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2017 Ancient genomes reveal substantial ancestry continuity along the Pacific Northwest while also documenting later population changes.

Ancient Mitochondrial DNA Provides High-Resolution Time Scale of the Peopling of the Americas

| Bastien Llamas et al. | Science Advances | 2016 Mitochondrial genomes support a period of isolation in Beringia followed by rapid movement along a coastal route into the Americas.

Genomic Evidence for the Pleistocene and Recent Population History of Native Americans

| Maanasa Raghavan et al. | Science | 2015 Large-scale genomic analysis reconstructs founding migrations, isolation, and later population structure among Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Genomic Evidence for Two Founding Populations of the Americas

| Pontus Skoglund et al. | Nature | 2015 Detects a subtle ancestry signal linking some Indigenous South Americans with populations of Australasia and raises questions about early American population structure.

Ancient Human DNA from Alaska Reveals a Story of Population Movements

| Jennifer A. Raff et al. | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2015 Ancient genetic evidence helps reconstruct population continuity and migration in the North American Arctic and sub-Arctic.

The Genome of a Late Pleistocene Human from a Clovis Burial Site in Western Montana

| Morten Rasmussen et al. | Nature | 2014-02-12 The Anzick genome links Clovis-associated people directly with Indigenous American populations and supports ancestry derived ultimately from northeast Asia.

Late Pleistocene Human Skeleton and mtDNA Link Paleoamericans and Modern Native Americans

| James C. Chatters et al. | Science | 2014 DNA from the ancient Naia skeleton in Mexico supports continuity between early Paleoamerican populations and later Indigenous Americans.

The Genetic Prehistory of the New World Arctic

| Maanasa Raghavan et al. | Science | 2014 Ancient genomes show that Paleo-Eskimos represented a migration into the Arctic distinct from both earlier Native Americans and later Inuit.

When Did Humans Come to the Americas?

| Smithsonian Magazine | Smithsonian Magazine | 2013 Reviews archaeological and genetic debates concerning the timing and routes by which humans entered North America from Beringia.

The Genetic History of Indigenous Populations of the Americas

| David Reich et al. | Nature | 2012 Genome-wide analysis identifies major ancestry streams and population movements involved in the formation of Indigenous American populations.