🇯🇵 A Jomon–Kamchatka mix before the Okhotsk

An early Okhotsk genome from Rebun Island (Hokkaido) shows ancestry from Jomon (the Indigenous hunter-gatherers of Japan) mixed with Kamchatka/Chukotka–related peoples from Russia’s Far East — giving the first direct genetic proof of this pre-Okhotsk mixed population.

Later Okhotsk individuals carry extra Amur Basin ancestry, but this early person does not, which helps pin down the sequence of movements into northern Japan: first Jomon + Kamchatka, then Amur.

Takeaway: Northern Japan’s ancient DNA records a two-step story — Jomon–Kamchatka mixing came before later arrivals from the Amur Basin, not one single wave.

Source: Sato et al., 2025. Genome of an early Okhotsk individual reveals ancient admixture between Jomon and Kamchatka lineages.