Human settlement of the New World occurred in stages from the Bering sea coast line, with an initial 15,000 to 20,000-year layover on Beringia for the small founding population. The micro-satellite diversity and distributions of the Y lineage specific to South America indicates that certain indigenous peoples of the Americas populations have been isolated since the initial colonization of the region. The Na-Dené, Inuit and Indigenous Alaskan populations exhibit haplogroup Q (Y-DNA) mutations, however are distinct from other indigenous peoples of the Americas with various mtDNA and atDNA mutations. This suggests that the earliest migrants into the northern extremes of North America and Greenland derived from later migrant populations. COUNT 5
QSN1 What did human settlement of the New World occur in? ANS1 stages QSN2 How long of a layover did the human nomads have in Beringia? ANS2 15,000 to 20,000-year QSN3 What do the diversity and distributions of Y lineage specific to South America indicate about certain peoples there? ANS3 isolated since the initial colonization of the region QSN4 What population has mtDNA and atDNA mutations, making them distinct from other indigenous peoples of the Americas? ANS4 Alaskan QSN5 What does the DNA evidence suggest about the migrants into the northern extremes of North America? ANS5 later migrant populations