The inverted triangle shape of South America places Argentina territory as a geographical crossroads between the two principal peopling streams that followed either the Pacific or the Atlantic coasts, which could have then merged in Central Argentina. Although the genetic diversity from this region is therefore crucial to decipher past population movements in South America, its characterization has been overlooked so far. We report 92 modern and 22 ancient mitogenomes spanning a temporal range of 5000 years, which were compared to a large set of previously reported data. Leveraging this dataset representative of the mitochondrial diversity of the subcontinent, we investigate the maternal history of Central Argentina populations within a wider geographical context. We describe a large number of novel clades within the mitochondrial DNA tree, thus providing new phylogenetic interpretations for South America. We also identify several local clades of great temporal depth with continuity until present that stem directly from the founder haplotypes, suggesting that they originated in the region and expanded from there. Moreover, the presence of lineages characteristic of other South American regions reveals the existence of gene flow to Central Argentina. Finally, we report some lineages with discontinuous distribution across the Americas, which suggest the persistence of relic lineages likely linked to the first population arrivals. The present study represents to date the most exhaustive attempt to elaborate a Native American genetic map from modern and ancient complete mitochondrial genomes in Argentina and provides relevant information about the general process of settlement in South America.
The aim of this study is to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of palaeodiet diversification through isotopic measurements (d 13 C COL and d 15 N) from individuals who inhabited the Central Mountains of Argentina during the Holocene. Isotopic measurements were obtained from bone and tooth samples from ten human skeletons, corresponding to the Middle and Late Holocene (4500-300 14 C BP). Isotopic results show the consumption of C 3 , C 4 and CAM plants, which reflects a mixed diet. Variation observed among hunter-gatherer sites could be associated with differences in the availability of animal resources. On the other hand, evidence from agricultural sites could be indicating a more omnivorous diet, with greater emphasis on vegetable resources. Regarding spatial variation, the d 13 C results suggest modest regional differences in diet in the later periods of the regional sequence. This study provides a first step to evaluating the role played by maize agriculture and the dietary variability in time and space for populations that inhabited the Central Mountains during the Holocene. Although preliminary, the evidence suggests that adoption of agriculture was complementary to huntergatherer subsistence strategies. However, the incorporation of cultigens seems to show regional differences. These results confirm the mixed character of the economy, previously inferred from other archaeological indicators.
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