Naia (skeleton) facts for kids

Naia (also known as HN5/48) is the name given to the skeleton of a teenage girl. She lived about 12,000 to 13,000 years ago. Her bones were found in an underwater cave in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico.

Scientists found Naia's skeleton in 2007. It was in a deep underwater chamber called Hoyo Negro. This means "Black Hole" in Spanish. The cave system is part of the Sistema Sac Actun. When Naia was alive, this cave system was mostly dry. She probably fell into the Hoyo Negro and died.

Naia's skeleton is very special. Scientists say it is the "oldest, most complete and genetically intact human skeleton in the New World." This means it helps us learn a lot about the first people in the Americas.

How Naia Helps Us Understand Early Americans

Scientists studied Naia's bones and her DNA. This helped them learn about the first people who came to the Americas. These early people are called Paleoamericans.

Genetic Clues from Naia

Scientists did DNA tests on Naia's bones. They found a special type of DNA called MtDNA haplotype D1. This type of DNA is also found in people from Asia. It is one of the main types of DNA found in the first people who came to the Americas.

This discovery showed a link between Paleoamericans and modern indigenous peoples of the Americas. It means that both groups likely came from the same ancestors. These ancestors probably came from Asia. They traveled across a land bridge called Beringia. This land bridge once connected Asia and North America.

Naia's Skull and Early Migrations

Naia's skeleton also helped scientists understand how early people looked. Some scientists thought Paleoamericans looked very different from later Native Americans. They wondered if there were two separate groups of people who came to the Americas.

However, Naia's skull showed something important. Even though her skull shape was like other Paleoamericans, her DNA linked her to modern Native Americans. This suggests that both groups came from a single group of people. The differences in skull shape might have happened over time as people spread out. Naia's discovery supports the idea that the first people in the Americas came from one main group that expanded from Beringia.

See also

In Spanish: Naia para niños