Wednesday, May 25, 2005

How Many People Does It Take...

...to found the New World?

North America Settled by Just 70 People, Study Concludes
"Previous DNA analyses of the New World's founding looked at just one gene and assumed populations sizes have been constant over time. The new study looked at nine genomic regions to account for variations in single genes, and it assumed that sizes of founding populations change over time. The method favored actual genetic data over estimates used in previous calculations.
"'The estimated effective size of the founding population for the New World is about 70 individuals,' said Jody Hey, a professor of genetics at Rutgers University."


Very interesting. Of of course, "most scientists agree" these early settlers came over a land bridge. Why couldn't they have come by boat?

I hope someone at the BYU anthropology department saw this.

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