Ancient DNA from a pre-Columbian Amerindian population

Abstract

Ancient DNA was obtained from skeletal remains from the Norris Farms #36 cemetery, a pre-Columbian archeological site in central Illinois that dates to A.D. 1300. Four mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers were analyzed that delineate the four primary mtDNA lineages found in contemporary Amerindian populations. mtDNA types were determined for 50 individuals; 49 belonged to one of these four lineages. One lineage occurred only in males, suggesting an immigration of maternally related males into this community. There was no significant spatial patterning of mtDNA lineages within the cemetery. This survey of ancient DNA variation in a pre-Columbian population supports the view that the initial colonization of the New World comprised just four primary mtDNA lineages.