[Coyoteman]

Not as familiar with all of the details for that area. I had assumed that original Ainu group was a part of the SE Asian/Indonesian group which followed the coast to the US (early coastal migration). This would account for the Tlingit (Na-Dene) connection as well.

I have seen a dissertation dealing with the New World segment of this that links a number of coastal groups, British Columbia to California.

[blam]

"I had assumed that original Ainu group was a part of the SE Asian/Indonesian group which followed the coast to the US (early coastal migration). This would account for the Tlingit (Na-Dene) connection as well."

I agree and have no problem with that reading.

This article seems to say that the Ainu are not closely related to Europeans, Asians or Africans. So...are they a new racial group?

[blam]

Also, I have expected the Ainu to be the people Neves did his skull study on and also the 'bringers' of the haplotype-X to the Americas.

Remember too, Oppenheimer says the oldest (undisputed) Mongoloid skeleton ever found is only 10k years old.