A 1,000-year-old tooth has provided genetic evidence that the first natives to meet Columbus in the New World have living descendants in the Caribbean.

DNA from the Taino people, who were thought to have been wiped out after Europeans arrived in the Bahamas in 1492, has been found in modern-day Puerto Ricans.

The new research provides the first concrete proof that indigenous ancestry in the Caribbean has survived to the present day.

Previously, it was thought the 'handsome' Taino people were wiped out shortly after Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean.

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The Taino people spread north from South America (one) to a number of island across the Caribbean (two). After Christopher Columbus arrived in the 15th Century (four), it was assumed they were wiped out, but a new study (three) suggests their ancestry lives on (five)

The tooth used in the new study was found on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, and marks the first complete ancient human genome from the Caribbean.

It belonged to a Taino woman who lived sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries, at least 500 years before Columbus's arrival.

Comparing the ancient genes to those of contemporary Puerto Ricans, scientists found they were more closely related to the ancient Taíno than any other indigenous group in the Americas.

However, the researchers, from Cambridge and Copenhagen Universities, argue that this characteristic is unlikely to be exclusive to Puerto Ricans alone.

When Columbus arrived in the New World the 15th Century, he described the Taino as a generous people.

'They will give all that they do possess for anything that is given to them, exchanging things even for bits of broken crockery,' he noted upon meeting them in the Bahamas in 1492.

'They were very well built, with very handsome bodies and very good faces....They do not carry arms or know them....They should be good servants.'

A 1,000-year-old tooth found in a cave the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas has provided genetic evidence that the first natives to meet Columbus in the New World have living descendants in the Caribbean today. Pictured is part of a skull found at the cave

The new research finally provides concrete proof that indigenous ancestry in the Caribbean has survived to the present day. Previously it was thought that the Taino people were wiped out shortly after Columbus arrived (artist's impression) in the New World in 1492

WHO WERE THE TAINO PEOPLE? The Taíno were an indigenous American people who were among the first to feel the impact of European colonisation after Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492. They lived in dense, well-organised communities across the Caribbean, and were known for their expert farming and generosity. The group had origins in South America among the Arawak tribes of the vast Orinoco River Delta in eastern Venezuela. They gradually spread across the Antilles in waves of voyages, and began settling in the Caribbean around 400 BC. Mingling with groups already established in the region, they formed communities on the island of Hispaniola, Jamaica, eastern Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas. They cultivated maize, sweet potatoes, beans, yuca and other crops for food, medicine and even weaponry - Spanish chroniclers wrote that the Taíno developed pepper gas for warfare. When Columbus arrived in the 15th Century, he described them as a generous people. 'They will give all that they do possess for anything that is given to them, exchanging things even for bits of broken crockery,' he noted upon meeting them in the Bahamas in 1492. 'They were very well built, with very handsome bodies and very good faces....They do not carry arms or know them....They should be good servants.' Few of the Taíno were left a half-century later, wiped out by European disease and the slave trade, and it was thought for centuries they had gone extinct. Advertisement

Few of the Taíno were left a half-century later, wiped out by European disease and the slave trade, and it was thought for centuries they had gone extinct.

The new findings are likely to be significant for people who have long claimed indigenous Taíno heritage.

While historians, archaeologists and descendant communities had claimed the Taíno weren't extinct for decades, until now they lacked clear genetic evidence to support their case.

Lead author Dr Hannes Schroeder, from the University of Copenhagen, said: 'It's a fascinating finding.

'Many history books will tell you that the indigenous population of the Caribbean was all but wiped out, but people who self-identify as Taíno have always argued for continuity.

'Now we know they were right all along: There has been some form of genetic continuity in the Caribbean.'

Study co-author Professor Eske Willerslev, from the, University of Cambridge, said: 'It has always been clear that people in the Caribbean have Native American ancestry, but because the region has such a complex history of migration, it was difficult to prove whether this was specifically indigenous to the Caribbean, until now.'

The tooth used in the new study was found in Preachers Cave (pictured) on Eleuthera, and marks the first complete ancient human genome from the Caribbean. It belonged to a Taino woman who lived sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries

The researchers were also able to trace the genetic origins of the Taíno people.

They showed that they were most closely related to Arawakan-speaking groups who live in parts of northern South America today.

This suggests that the origins of at least some the people who migrated to the Caribbean can be traced back to the Amazon and Orinoco Basins, where the Arawakan languages developed.

The Caribbean was one of the last parts of the Americas to be populated by humans starting around 8,000 years ago.

The researchers were also able to trace the genetic origins of the Taíno people. They showed that they were most closely related to Arawakan-speaking groups who live in parts of northern South America today. Pictured are scientists during excavations at Preachers Cave

By the time of European colonisation, the islands were a complex patchwork of different societies and cultures.

The 'Taíno' culture was dominant in the Greater, and parts of the Lesser Antilles, as well as the Bahamas, where the people were known as Lucayans.

To trace the genetic origins of the Lucayans the researchers compared the ancient Bahamian genome with previously published genome-wide datasets for over 40 present-day indigenous groups from the Americas.

In addition, they looked for traces of indigenous Caribbean ancestry in present-day populations by comparing the ancient genome with those of 104 contemporary Puerto Ricans included in the 1000 Genomes Project.

The 10-15 per cent of Native American ancestry in this group was shown to be closely related to the ancient Bahamian genome.

Although indigenous Caribbean communities were island-based, the researchers found very little genomic evidence of isolation or inbreeding in the ancient genome.

This reinforces earlier genetic research, which suggests that early human communities developed surprisingly extensive social networks.

Professor Corinne Hofman from Leiden University and PI of the NEXUS1492 project, said: 'Archaeological evidence has always suggested that large numbers of people who settled the Caribbean originated in South America, and that they maintained social networks that extended far beyond the local scale.

'Historically, it has been difficult to back this up with ancient DNA because of poor preservation, but this study demonstrates that it is possible to obtain ancient genomes from the Caribbean and that opens up fascinating new possibilities for research.'