Genomic analyses correspond with deep persistence of peoples of Blackfoot Confederacy from glacial times.
SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024;
10:eadl6595. [PMID:
38569022 PMCID:
PMC10990285 DOI:
10.1126/sciadv.adl6595]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Mutually beneficial partnerships between genomics researchers and North American Indigenous Nations are rare yet becoming more common. Here, we present one such partnership that provides insight into the peopling of the Americas and furnishes another line of evidence that can be used to further treaty and Indigenous rights. We show that the genomics of sampled individuals from the Blackfoot Confederacy belong to a previously undescribed ancient lineage that diverged from other genomic lineages in the Americas in Late Pleistocene times. Using multiple complementary forms of knowledge, we provide a scenario for Blackfoot population history that fits with oral tradition and provides a plausible model for the evolutionary process of the peopling of the Americas.
Collapse