Naia, The First American

More than 12,000 years ago, a young girl died. Archaeologist James Chatters found her bones in a cave on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Scientists named her “Naia.” She was a teenager from the Ice Age, about 15 to 17 years old when she died. Studying Naia’s skeleton has taught us a lot about life in the early Americas. Her bones show that she probably walked everywhere and didn’t carry much with her. She also went through hard times with her health and nutrition, which left marks on her bones and teeth. “She’s telling us a story. It was a very hard life,” said James Chatters, the archaeologist who studied her.

DNA tests showed that Naia belonged to the same group of Asian immigrants who became the first Americans and later Native Americans. Scientists studied her bones carefully in the water-filled cave where she was found in 2007. But some people disturbed her remains, so in 2014 and 2016, researchers carefully moved her bones out of the cave to protect them and study them better.

About half of Naia’s skeleton was recovered, including her skull, both arms, and one leg. This makes her one of the most complete skeletons over 12,000 years old found in the Americas.

Naia likely died after falling into the deep pit where she was found. She was very thin—so thin that one of her arm bones was only as thick as Chatters’ little finger. Marks on her bones show that she sometimes didn’t have enough food and may have had health problems, like parasites, that kept her from getting enough nutrients. Even her teeth show that her diet was limited at times.

Naia’s discovery is important because it helps scientists understand the lives of the first Americans. Thanks to James Chatters’ curiosity and careful research, we now know more about what life was like during the Ice Age.