Challenging the Paradigm: New Pleistocene Data on First Americans Forces Reassessment of Single Origin Migration Models – The Rise of the ‘Zero Wave’ Hypothesis (2025)
Figure Right: Recent discoveries, including the 22,000-year-old (median age) footprints in New Mexico and Australasian DNA elements (Population Y) in South America, demonstrate that the dispersal solely after the Beringia standstill is insufficient for explanation. This necessitates the consideration of hypotheses based on a “Zero-Wave and Subsequent Waves” multi-layered model.
It is entirely inappropriate to exclude the Sojin (Jomon ancestors/predecessors) from this discourse, especially when considering the focused attention on the South American Population Y—a lineage not found in North American Natives. The Sojin are estimated to have continued northward approximately 30,000 years ago from “East Hokkaido Gateway ” and possessed the necessary adaptability for ice-age coastal environments, despite the finding that Jomon DNA and tooth samples from a few thousand years ago do not align with North American Natives. The academic community must urgently break away from the conventional Single Siberian Origin Model.
The latest debate on the “first” Americans strongly supports a Pacific coastal route of migration. Key evidence includes the Monte Verde site in Chile (marine algae use) and the White Sands footprints (dated to 22,000 years ago).
Genetic findings show an affinity between South American “Population-Y” and Australasian Indigenous DNA, a component absent in North America. This, coupled with the closed inland ice-free corridor at that time, negates the traditional North American-related Siberian lineage model.
It is highly probable that the pioneers were the Hokkaido Sojin, who followed a maritime-skilled coastal route via the Hokkaido-Kuril Islands and Glacial Beringia, representing an earlier dispersal. This was subsequently followed by the later broad dispersal of the inland-adapted Tianyuan/ANA lineage.
The key to the dispersal history of modern humans—specifically the First Americans—is not the North American Native teeth, but the Australasian/Onge DNA of the South American “Population Y.”
➀The White Sands footprints (dated to 22 kya by three methods) support that the initial southward dispersal (Zero Wave/ZWSP) was composed of coastal maritime people.
➁The Jomon ancestor Sojin DNA related to the Onge and Maniq, represents an early migration wave preserved in insular refugia (“cage-like islands”). Therefore, this Sojin lineage is a candidate for the coastal route dispersal, supported by their maritime livelihood, such as the 38,000-year-old obsidian voyages off the coast of Izu. -RSoJS ＃Sojin
Right Figure: DNA Linkages Supporting the Coastal Route
The right figure illustrates the DNA kinship between ancient groups, such as Australian Aboriginals from tens of thousands of years ago, and Population-Y in South America.
This evidence, combined with ancient footprints in North America and the Monte Verde site in South America, strengthens the coastal route theory. DNA analysis from various regions strongly supports a recent paradigm shift to a Two-Wave Theory, starting with the Zero Wave.
Left Figure: The pioneering Zero Wave involved the Sojin ancestors (The First Japanese, ancestors of Jomon people). Their advanced marine technology is validated by their initial navigation across the Tsushima Strait and long-distance, subsistence voyages from the Izu Peninsula (near Mt. Fuji) to a remote Obsidian Island. This established maritime capability aligns powerfully with the American coastal route theory. This group had been previously overlooked because their DNA did not match that of modern North American Natives, but they are now gaining significant recognition. The Subsequent Wave （ANA） consists of an influential group originating from the Northeast Asian interior. This population is the primary source whose DNA spread across modern Native Americans.
