Abstract
SummaryThe recently enriched genomic history of Indigenous groups in the Americas is still meager concerning continental Central America. Here, we report ten pre-Hispanic (plus two early colonial) genomes and 84 genome-wide profiles from seven groups presently living in Panama. Our analyses reveal that pre-Hispanic demographic events contributed to the extensive genetic structure currently seen in the area, which is also characterized by a distinctive Isthmo-Colombian Indigenous component. This component drives these populations on a specific variability axis and derives from the local admixture of different ancestries of northern North American origin(s). Two of these ancestries were differentially associated to Pleistocene Indigenous groups that also moved into South America, leaving heterogenous genetic footprints. An additional Pleistocene ancestry was brought by a still unsampled population of the Isthmus (UPopI) that remained restricted to the Isthmian area, expanded locally during the early Holocene, and left genomic traces up to the present day.
Highlights
Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that the peopling of sub-Arctic America started from Beringia before, during, and immediately after late Glacial times (Achilli et al, 2018; Ardelean et al, 2020; Becerra-Valdivia and Higham, 2020; Braje et al, 2017; Skoglund and Reich, 2016; Waters, 2019; Yu et al, 2020)
The tropical environment and the proximity of the excavation sites to the ocean, with recurrent flooding, challenge the possibility of DNA preservation, we were able to obtain some of the first reliable ancient DNA (aDNA) data from the Isthmus
In order to characterize the genetics of Isthmian individuals with the greatest possible spatial range and temporal depth, the 12 ancient genomes were compared with genomewide data from 74 unrelated modern Panamanians and to available modern and ancient data by assembling different datasets (STAR Methods; Table S3)
Summary
Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that the peopling of sub-Arctic America started from Beringia before, during, and immediately after late Glacial times (Achilli et al, 2018; Ardelean et al, 2020; Becerra-Valdivia and Higham, 2020; Braje et al, 2017; Skoglund and Reich, 2016; Waters, 2019; Yu et al, 2020). Ancient individuals carrying SNA ancestries crossed the Panama land bridge and entered South America Their fast spread along the southern continent is evidenced by the earliest archaeological human presence in the Southern Cone at 14.6 kya and by ancient human genomes dating more than 9 kya on both sides of the continent: at Cuncaicha (Peru) and Los Rieles (Chile) on the Pacific and Lapa do Santo and Lagoa Santa (Brazil) on the Atlantic. Another UPop (UPopY) with Australasian ancestry may have contributed to the early peopling of South America as recognized in one sample from the Lagoa Santa site and in some Amazonian groups that experienced isolation events (e.g., Surui and Karitiana) (Moreno-Mayar et al, 2018; Skoglund et al, 2015)
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