New World Stopover: People may have entered the Americas in stages

Think of it as the ultimate travel delay. Asian migrants first reached the northwestern edge of the Americas as early as 40,000 years ago but then had to wait at least 20,000 years before heading south into the continent’s heart, a new genetic analysis finds.

Maps labeled A, B, and C depict each phase of the new three-step colonization model for the peopling of the Americas. Light-brown areas are exposed seafloor and dark-brown areas are current land. The phrase kya indicates thousands of years. Amerinds are early Americans.
STEP-BY-STEP.