High levels of consanguinity in a child from Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico
This study reports results from the ancient DNA analysis of a unique child burial at Paquimé, northern Chihuahua, Mexico. Located between Mesoamerican and Ancestral Puebloan groups, Paquimé (also known as Casas Grandes) was a vibrant multicultural centre during the 13th-14th centuries AD. Archaeologists have long debated Paquimé's social organization. Our analysis of Burial 23-8 has revealed that this child, placed under the centre post of an important room, had parents who were close genetic relatives. We argue that this child's consanguinity and special depositional context resulted from an elite family's practice of aggrandizing social status.
Authors
- Jakob Sedig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6642-7734)
- David Reich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7037-5292)
- Michael Searcy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2485-724X)
- Steven A. LeBlanc (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9201-1070)
- José Luis Punzo Díaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1025-9169)
- Laurie Eccles
- Meradeth Snow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4737-7086)
- Frank C. Ramos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7655-2281)
Institutions
- Brigham Young University (US)
- New Mexico State University (US)
- Broad Institute (US)
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Evolutionary Genomics (United States) (US)
- Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology (US)
- National Institute of Anthropology and History (MX)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- University of Montana (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Antiquity
- Published
- 2024-08-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.94
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Forensic and Genetic Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.10
Funders
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- John Templeton Foundation
- Allen Discovery Center