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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archaeogenetics | 5/5 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeogenetics | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:58:24.541020+00:00 | kb-cron |
Archaeogenetics has been used to better understand the populating of the Americas from Asia. Native American mtDNA haplogroups have been estimated to be between 15 and 20 kya, although there is some variation in these estimates. Genetic data has been used to propose various theories regarding how the Americas were colonized. Although the most widely held theory suggests "three waves" of migration after the LGM through the Bering Strait, genetic data have given rise to alternative hypotheses. For example, one hypothesis proposes a migration from Siberia to South America 20–15 kya and a second migration that occurred after glacial recession. Y-chromosome data has led some to hold that there was a single migration starting from the Altai Mountains of Siberia between 17.2 and 10.1 kya, after the LGM. Analysis of both mtDNA and Y-chromosome DNA reveals evidence of "small, founding populations." Studying haplogroups has led some scientists to conclude that a southern migration into the Americas from one small population was impossible, although separate analysis has found that such a model is feasible if such a migration happened along the coasts.
==== Australia and New Guinea ==== Finally, archaeogenetics has been used to study the occupation of Australia and New Guinea. The Indigenous people of Australia and New Guinea are phenotypically very similar, but mtDNA has shown that this is due to convergence from living in similar conditions. Non-coding regions of mt-DNA have shown "no similarities" between the aboriginal populations of Australia and New Guinea. Furthermore, no major NRY lineages are shared between the two populations. The high frequency of a single NRY lineage unique to Australia coupled with "low diversity of lineage-associated Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) haplotypes" provide evidence for a "recent founder or bottleneck" event in Australia. But there is relatively large variation in mtDNA, which would imply that the bottleneck effect impacted males primarily. Together, NRY and mtDNA studies show that the splitting event between the two groups was over 50 kya, casting doubt on recent common ancestry between the two. Recent studies have noted many ethical and interpretational dilemmas linked to the use of ancient DNA in archaeological science. Many authors, including Deborah Sweeney (2011) “Sex and Gender,” in UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, and Matthew Johnson (2020) Archaeological Theory: An Introduction, 3rd ed., consider that ideas like those of sex, gender, race, or ethnicity are socially constructed and vary from society to society and from period to period in history. The use of DNA in interpretations of rigid identities like those of sex or gender supports biological determinism in science. Moreover, there are many ethical questions linked to research in ancient DNA if this research involves human remains. For example, Christopher Heaney (2023) in “Curing Incas,” in the context of Empires of the Dead, illustrates that many current descendant cultures view mummified ancestors not only as biological samples in science research but rather live beings in action. For this reason, many archaeologists consider that researchers should do research in terms of ancient DNA in collaboration and support of living descendants if research aims are compatible with values of the living society linked historically with the investigated DNA samples.
=== Plants and animals === Archaeogenetics has been used to understand the development of domestication of plants and animals.
==== Domestication of plants ==== The combination of genetics and archeological findings have been used to trace the earliest signs of plant domestication around the world. However, since the nuclear, mitochondrial, and chloroplast genomes used to trace domestication's moment of origin have evolved at different rates, its use to trace genealogy have been somewhat problematic. Nuclear DNA in specific is used over mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA because of its faster mutation rate as well as its intraspecific variation due to a higher consistency of polymorphism genetic markers. Findings in crop 'domestication genes' (traits that were specifically selected for or against) include
tb1 (teosinte branched1) – affecting the apical dominance in maize tga1 (teosinte glume architecture1) – making maize kernels compatible for the convenience of humans te1 (Terminal ear1) – affecting the weight of kernels fw2.2 – affecting the weight in tomatoes BoCal – inflorescence of broccoli and cauliflower Through the study of archaeogenetics in plant domestication, signs of the first global economy can also be uncovered. The geographical distribution of new crops highly selected in one region found in another where it would have not originally been introduced serve as evidence of a trading network for the production and consumption of readily available resources.
==== Domestication of animals ==== Archaeogenetics has been used to study the domestication of animals. By analyzing genetic diversity in domesticated animal populations researchers can search for genetic markers in DNA to give valuable insight about possible traits of progenitor species. These traits are then used to help distinguish archaeological remains between wild and domesticated specimens. The genetic studies can also lead to the identification of ancestors for domesticated animals. The information gained from genetics studies on current populations helps guide the Archaeologist's search for documenting these ancestors. Archaeogenetics has been used to trace the domestication of pigs throughout the old world. These studies also reveal evidence about the details of early farmers. Methods of Archaeogenetics have also been used to further understand the development of domestication of dogs. Genetic studies have shown that all dogs are descendants from the gray wolf, however, it is currently unknown when, where, and how many times dogs were domesticated. Some genetic studies have indicated multiple domestications while others have not. Archaeological findings help better understand this complicated past by providing solid evidence about the progression of the domestication of dogs. As early humans domesticated dogs the archaeological remains of buried dogs became increasingly more abundant. Not only does this provide more opportunities for archaeologists to study the remains, it also provides clues about early human culture.
== See also ==
Evolutionary biology portal History portal
== References ==
=== Citations ===
=== Sources ===
== External links == Molecular Genetics Laboratory, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research