Maya civilization developed in Mesoamerica and encompassed the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, part of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, and the western parts of Honduras and El Salvador. This civilization persisted approximately 3,000 years and was one of the most advanced of its time, possessing the only known full writing system at the time, as well as art, sophisticated architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. This civilization reached the apex of its power and influence during the Preclassic period, from 2000 BCE to 250 CE. Genetic variation in the pre-Hispanic Mayas from archaeological sites in the Mexican states of Yucatan, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, and Tabasco and their relationship with the contemporary communities in these regions have not been previously studied. Consequently, the principal aim of this study was to determine mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation in the pre-Hispanic Maya population and to assess the relationship of these individuals with contemporary Mesoamerican Maya and populations from Asia, Beringia, and North, Central, and South America. Our results revealed interactions and gene flow between populations in the different archaeological sites assessed in this study. The mtDNA haplogroup frequency in the pre-Hispanic Maya population (60.53%, 34.21%, and 5.26% for haplogroups A, C, and D, respectively) was similar to that of most Mexican and Guatemalan Maya populations, with haplogroup A exhibiting the highest frequency. Haplogroup B most likely arrived independently and mixed with populations carrying haplogroups A and C based on its absence in the pre-Hispanic Mexican Maya populations and low frequencies in most Mexican and Guatemalan Maya populations, although this also may be due to drift. Maya and Ciboneys sharing haplotype H10 belonged to haplogroup C1 and haplotype H4 of haplogroup D, suggesting shared regional haplotypes. This may indicate a shared genetic ancestry, suggesting more regional interaction between populations in the circum-Caribbean region than previously demonstrated. Haplotype sharing between the pre-Hispanic Maya and the indigenous populations from Asia, the Aleutian Islands, and North, Maternal Lineage in Pre-Hispanic and Contemporary Mayas ■ 137Central, and South America provides evidence for gene flow from the ancestral Amerindian population of the pre-Hispanic Maya to Central and South America.

The Maya civilization developed in Mesoamerica persisted approximately 3,000 years and was one of the most advanced of its time. Mayas had the only known full writing system, as well as highly developed mathematical and astronomical systems. They also developed sophisticated architecture and arts. The Maya area of settlement ranged from the Yucatan Peninsula through Guatemala, Belize, and part of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, as well as parts of Honduras and El Salvador. The Maya civilization reached its peak of power and influence in the Preclassic period, from 2000 BCE to 250 CE. Despite the profound impact of the Mayan civilization on Mesoamerica and neighboring populations, studies of genetic variation of ancient Maya populations in pre-European times are scarce. Therefore, this work examines evidence in ancient DNA from archaeological sites in the states of Yucatan, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, and Tabasco. We report data analysis from sequences of the mtDNA hypervariable region I (HV1) from bone remains found in excavations of archaeological sites of the Maya region and their relationship with ancient and contemporary communities in this region, including Central and South America, as well as with Asia and Beringia. We discuss the results in the light of the influence of climate change in the area and relate them to evidence from language change. Gene flow within the Maya area occurred with a directional flow to South America in the Preclassic and Classic eras of the Mesoamerican chronology. This is supported by historical documentation, that has shown that the ancestors of the Maya civilization entered the Yucatan Peninsula after the first movement of people from Northern Asia into the Americas, with later migrations of the Maya ancestors to Mesoamerica, through Central America and the Caribbean, and toward the northern portions of South America.

In 1985, Sir Alec Jeffreys developed the variable-number tandem repeat method used to identify individuals and giving researchers the first DNA fingerprints. These initial methods were used in anthropological genetics, a field that uses a comparative approach to answer questions about human history, including the discernment of the origin of Native American populations and the discrimination of clan affiliation from individuals in Siberia. The technological and methodological advances since this time have led to the use of many more markers, including restriction fragment length polymorphisms, Y chromosomal and autosomal short tandem repeats, single nucleotide polymorphisms, and direct sequencing not only to identify individuals, but to examine frequencies and distributions of markers (or “prints”) of entire populations. In the field of anthropological genetics these markers have been used to reconstruct evolutionary history and answer questions concerning human origins and diaspora, migration, and the effects of admixture and adaptation to different environments, as well as susceptibility and resistance to disease. This review discusses the evolution of DNA markers since their application by Sir Alec Jeffreys and their applications in anthropological genetics.

This chapter examines the causes and consequences of migrations as well as population expansions and reductions of the Garifuna (also known as the Black Caribs), and the Carib and Arawak Native Americans from South America to the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean. In the 1600s, African slaves were brought by the British to the Lesser Antilles and admixed with Indigenous Native Americans to establish the Garifuna populations. British colonial takeover of St. Vincent (called Yurumein by the Garifuna) from the French resulted in conflict over land ownership with the Black Caribs, a war, and the forcible relocation of the Garifuna from St. Vincent to Baliceaux Island, Bay Islands, and eventually to the coast of Central America-- Honduras. From two founding communities established near Trujillo, Honduras, the Garifuna populations expanded through fission to form 54 villages distributed along the coast of Central America from Belize to Nicaragua. The evolutionary consequences of these migrations included an exceptional fertility in the founding populations, high genetic variability in some communities due to admixture between Native American and African populations, and resistance to malaria due to genes brought by the parental populations. The Garifuna provide an evolutionary success story driven by their unique history of migrations and genetic ancestry.

There were diverse causes and demographic and evolutionary consequences of migration of the Unangan (a.k.a. Aleut) people in their expansion from Siberia through the Aleutian archipelago. The causes included subsistence patterns, volcanic eruptions that destroyed island econiches, climatic changes that calmed the seas and made interisland migrations possible, and cultural contacts as well as forcible relocations. The consequences of the migrations included an intimate relationship between genetics, as revealed by mitochondrial DNA, and geography; loss of genetic diversity due to population fission along kin groups; creation of genetic barriers due to periodic climatic limitations to migrations; population genetic differentiation due to kin migration and founder effect; and admixture with Russian administrators and military in the western and central islands and with fishermen of English and Scandinavian ancestry in the eastern islands.