A large-scale paleogenomic study published in Science has analyzed the oldest human DNA recovered from the Spirit Cave site in Thailand, dating back to 14,000 years ago. The genetic data identifies a previously unknown 'Pleistocene pulse' of human migration that moved from the Eastern Himalayas into Southeast Asia. This group appears to have been genetically distinct from both the ancestral northern East Asians and the Hoabinhian hunter-gatherers.
The findings indicate that this 'Spirit Cave' lineage contributed significantly to the genetic makeup of early maritime populations that eventually moved into the Pacific. The research team suggests that this migration was likely driven by the stabilization of sea levels at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, which opened new ecological corridors for highly mobile hunter-gatherer groups specialized in tropical forest and riverine environments.