Tsimane - GoKawiil

Study tracks ancient human gut microbes vanishing in industrialized populations

Researchers studying the Tsimane people of Bolivia, working with the Gran Consejo Tsimane governing body and local communities, analyzed fecal samples to trace gut microbial species that appear to have migrated globally with early humans but are now disappearing in industrialized societies. The research, approved by multiple US and Bolivian institutional review boards, also provided participants with parasite screening and treatment as a direct health benefit, alongside decades of broader health and education support from the binational Tsimane Health and Life History Project.

nature.com · 2026-10-07

Study finds gut microbes shared by Hadza and Tsimane trace ancient human migrations

Researchers led by Carter et al., writing in Nature, compared gut microbiota of Tanzania's Hadza people with Bolivia's Tsimane people, whose ancestors diverged tens of thousands of years ago. They found hundreds of microbial species common to both groups, with genetic differences between strains aligning with the timing of prehistoric human migrations. Many of these shared microbes are now rare or absent in people living in industrialized regions.

nature.com · 2026-10-07