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Ancient genomes reveal long-range influence of the pre-Columbian culture and site of Tiwanaku.

ABSTRACT: Tiwanaku civilization flourished in the Lake Titicaca basin between 500 and 1000 CE and at its apogee influenced wide areas across the southern Andes. Despite a considerable amount of archaeological data, little is known about the Tiwanaku population. We analyzed 17 low-coverage genomes from individuals dated between 300 and 1500 CE and demonstrated genetic continuity in the Lake Titicaca basin throughout this period, which indicates that the substantial cultural and political changes in the region were not accompanied by large-scale population movements. Conversely, the ritual center of Tiwanaku revealed high diversity, including individuals with primarily local genetic ancestry and those with foreign admixture or provenance from as far as the Amazon. Nonetheless, most human offerings associated with the Akapana platform exhibited pure Titicaca basin ancestry and dated to ca. 950 CE—the onset of Tiwanaku’s decline as a sociopolitical center. Our results strengthen the view of Tiwanaku as a complex and far-reaching polity.

SUBMITTER: Popovic D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8462900 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Ancient genomes reveal long-range influence of the pre-Columbian culture and site of Tiwanaku.

Popović Danijela D Molak Martyna M Ziółkowski Mariusz M Vranich Alexei A Sobczyk Maciej M Vidaurre Delfor Ulloa DU Agresti Guido G Skrzypczak Magdalena M Ginalski Krzysztof K Lamnidis Thiseas Christos TC Nakatsuka Nathan N Mallick Swapan S Baca Mateusz M

Science advances 20210924 39

Tiwanaku civilization flourished in the Lake Titicaca basin between 500 and 1000 CE and at its apogee influenced wide areas across the southern Andes. Despite a considerable amount of archaeological data, little is known about the Tiwanaku population. We analyzed 17 low-coverage genomes from individuals dated between 300 and 1500 CE and demonstrated genetic continuity in the Lake Titicaca basin throughout this period, which indicates that the substantial cultural and political changes in the reg ...[more]

PMID: 34559567

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Project description:BACKGROUND:A detailed genetic study of the pre-Columbian population inhabiting the Tompullo 2 archaeological site (department Arequipa, Peru) was undertaken to resolve the kin relationships between individuals buried in six different chullpas. Kin relationships were an important factor shaping the social organization in the pre-Columbian Andean communities, centering on the ayllu, a group of relatives that shared a common land and responsibilities. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether this Andean model of a social organization had an influence on mortuary practices, in particular to determine whether chullpas served as family graves. RESULTS:The remains of forty-one individuals were analyzed with both uniparental (mtDNA, Y-chromosome) and biparental (autosomal microsatellites) markers. Reproducible HVRI sequences, autosomal and Y chromosomal STR profiles were obtained for 24, 16 and 11 individuals, respectively. Mitochondrial DNA diversity was comparable to that of ancient and contemporary Andean populations. The Tompullo 2 population exhibited the closest relationship with the modern population from the same region. A kinship analysis revealed complex pattern of relations within and between the graves. However mean relatedness coefficients regarding the pairs of individuals buried in the same grave were significantly higher than those regarding pairs buried in different graves. The Y chromosome profiles of 11 males suggest that only members of one male line were buried in the same grave. CONCLUSIONS:Genetic investigation of the population that inhabited Tompullo 2 site shows continuity between pre-Columbian and modern Native Amerindian populations inhabiting the Arequipa region. This suggests that no major demographic processes have influenced the mitochondrial DNA diversity of these populations during the past five hundred years. The kinship analysis involving uni- and biparental markers suggests that the community that inhabited the Tompullo 2 site was organized into extended family groups that were buried in different graves. This finding is in congruence with known models of social organization of Andean communities.

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Ancient genomes reveal long-range influence of the pre-Columbian culture and site of Tiwanaku.

Publications

Ancient genomes reveal long-range influence of the pre-Columbian culture and site of Tiwanaku.

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