Community partnerships are fundamental to ethical ancient DNA research

Kowal, Emma; Weyrich, Laura S.; Argüelles, Juan Manuel; Bader, Alyssa C.; Colwell, Chip; Cortez, Amanda Daniela; Davis, Jennifer L; Figueiro, Gonzalo; Fox, Keolu; Malhi, Ripan S.; Matisoo-Smith, Elizabeth; Nayak, Ayushi; Nelson, Elizabeth A.; Nicholas, George P.; Nieves-Colón, María A.; Russell, Lynette; Ulm, Sean; Vergara‐Silva, Francisco; Villanea, Fernando A.; Wagner, Jennifer K.; Yracheta, Joseph; Tsosie, Krystal S.

doi:10.1016/j.xhgg.2022.100161

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Collecting teeth could also serve as an internal control for each individual (i.e., sampling dental pulp as described in Mann et al, 2018). However, such methods would need the researchers to seek community partnerships and agreements for such destructive analyses (Fleskes et al, 2022; Kowal et al, 2023). While standardizing contamination approaches may be difficult because including additional controls would increase the costs of projects, a more clear and unified strategy is needed for the field.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sustainable calculus sampling methods are essential to ensure that a multitude of methodologies and research teams can pursue their own investigations. For researchers engaging in ancient dental calculus research, it is vital to determine the most up to date and minimally destructive analytical procedures that can return both useful and valid results, as well as to ensure that research is done in full partnership with all relevant communities (Ávila‐Arcos et al, 2022; Fleskes et al, 2022; Kowal et al, 2023). For those with access to the necessary financial and technical resources, engaging in multiomic practices could be an extremely effective option for minimizing destructive procedures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ancient human dental calculus metadata collection and sampling strategies: Recommendations for best practices

Gancz,

Wright,

Weyrich

2023

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesAncient human dental calculus is a unique, nonrenewable biological resource encapsulating key information about the diets, lifestyles, and health conditions of past individuals and populations. With compounding calls its destructive analysis, it is imperative to refine the ways in which the scientific community documents, samples, and analyzes dental calculus so as to maximize its utility to the public and scientific community.Materials and MethodsOur research team conducted an IRB‐approved survey of dental calculus researchers with diverse academic backgrounds, research foci, and analytical specializations.ResultsThis survey reveals variation in how metadata is collected and utilized across different subdisciplines and highlights how these differences have profound implications for dental calculus research. Moreover, the survey suggests the need for more communication between those who excavate, curate, and analyze biomolecular data from dental calculus.DiscussionChallenges in cross‐disciplinary communication limit researchers' ability to effectively utilize samples in rigorous and reproducible ways. Specifically, the lack of standardized skeletal and dental metadata recording and contamination avoidance procedures hinder downstream anthropological applications, as well as the pursuit of broader paleodemographic and paleoepidemiological inquiries that rely on more complete information about the individuals sampled. To provide a path forward toward more ethical and standardized dental calculus sampling and documentation approaches, we review the current methods by which skeletal and dental metadata are recorded. We also describe trends in sampling and contamination‐control approaches. Finally, we use that information to suggest new guidelines for ancient dental calculus documentation and sampling strategies that will improve research practices in the future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient human dental calculus metadata collection and sampling strategies: Recommendations for best practices

Gancz,

Wright,

Weyrich

2023

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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“…In the field of paleogenomics, as one example, genomic data access and sharing has become an increasingly contested issue. While some genomicists and archeologists advocate for unrestricted sharing of genomic data from Ancestors to facilitate additional research while minimizing the destruction of additional Ancestral samples (Alpaslan‐Roodenberg et al, 2021; Austin et al, 2019; Sirak & Sedig, 2019), others advocate for Indigenous data sovereignty 7 and the need for community‐collaborative research to prevent repeating the harms of the “freezer anthropology” era (Kowal et al, 2023; Tsosie et al, 2020). As such, researchers should carefully consider their management and use of data previously collected from Ancestral samples in collaboration with tribes and other descendant communities.…”

Section: Addressing Existing Ancestral Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological samples taken from Native American Ancestors are human remains under NAGPRA

Bader

Carbaugh

Davis

et al. 2023

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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In the United States, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) provides a specific framework for the disposition of Native American Ancestral remains within its purview. However, samples such as a bone fragment, tooth, or other biological tissue taken from the remains of these Ancestors have been treated by institutions and researchers as independent of the individual from whom they were removed and used in destructive research such as paleogenomic and other archaeometric analyses without consultation, consent, and collaboration from Native American communities; are not cared for in keeping with the current best practices for Indigenous Ancestors; and are not likely to be repatriated to their communities.Here, we demonstrate that any biological samples removed from Ancestors who are covered under NAGPRA must also be handled according to the stipulations defined for "human remains" within the legislation. As such, we are not proposing a change to existing legislation, but rather best practices, specific to the context of the United States and NAGPRA, relating to the use of and care for biological samples taken from Native American Ancestors.

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“…In addition to providing information about the population histories of Indigenous peoples in the Americas, genomic studies have the potential to further Indigenous communities' social, educational, legal, and political goals. Equitable partnerships between scientists and these communities are essential for advancing the fragmentary genomic knowledge of ancient and present-day Indigenous populations (7)(8)(9). This study presents results from such a mutually beneficial partnership among the Blood (Kainai) First Nation of Alberta, the Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Office (BTHPO), and scientists (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) from various academic institutions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic analyses correspond with deep persistence of peoples of Blackfoot Confederacy from glacial times

Rider,

Wolf,

Murray

et al. 2024

Sci. Adv.

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Mutually beneficial partnerships between genomics researchers and North American Indigenous Nations are rare yet becoming more common. Here, we present one such partnership that provides insight into the peopling of the Americas and furnishes another line of evidence that can be used to further treaty and Indigenous rights. We show that the genomics of sampled individuals from the Blackfoot Confederacy belong to a previously undescribed ancient lineage that diverged from other genomic lineages in the Americas in Late Pleistocene times. Using multiple complementary forms of knowledge, we provide a scenario for Blackfoot population history that fits with oral tradition and provides a plausible model for the evolutionary process of the peopling of the Americas.

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Community partnerships are fundamental to ethical ancient DNA research

Cited by 21 publications

References 27 publications

Ancient human dental calculus metadata collection and sampling strategies: Recommendations for best practices

Ancient human dental calculus metadata collection and sampling strategies: Recommendations for best practices

Biological samples taken from Native American Ancestors are human remains under NAGPRA

Genomic analyses correspond with deep persistence of peoples of Blackfoot Confederacy from glacial times

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