Native American Genomics and Population Histories

Abstract

Studies of Native American genetic diversity and population history have been transformed over the last decade by important developments in anthropological genetics. During this time, researchers have adopted new DNA technologies and computational approaches for analyzing genomic data, and they have become increasingly sensitive to the views of research participants and communities. As new methods are applied to long-standing questions, and as more research is conducted in collaboration with indigenous communities, we are gaining new insights into the history and diversity of indigenous populations. This review discusses the recent methodological advances and genetic studies that have improved our understanding of Native American genomics and population histories. We synthesize current knowledge about Native American genomic variation and build a model of population history in the Americas. We also discuss the broader implications of this research for anthropology and related disciplines, and we highlight challenges and other considerations for future research.

The genomic landscape of western South America: Andes, Amazonia and Pacific Coast

“…S6). It is important to stress that inferences on Native American prehistory should not be drawn exclusively from such divergent populations with many closely-related individuals, but should instead include more diverse populations from different regions and different cultural and demographic backgrounds, in order to capture the diversity of the continent 40,71 .…”

Archaic hominin introgression into modern human genomes

“…First is addressing the sampling bias in large human genetics studies; most human genetics studies focus on present‐day peoples in western European countries and the U.S., which has long been criticized by the biological anthropological community (Reardon & TallBear, ). Fortunately, the limitations of this bias have been increasingly appreciated (Bolnick, Raff, Springs, Reynolds, & Miró‐Herrans, ; Claw et al, ; Gokcumen, ). For example, extensive sampling of present‐day populations that live in Papua New Guinea revealed previously hidden and surprisingly recent introgression from Denisovans into the ancestors of these populations (Jacobs et al, ).…”

Exceeding Hrdlička's aims: 100 Years of genetics in anthropology

“…There is an extensive literature on mtDNA, transmitted mostly by mothers to their sons and daughters (Sato & Sato, ), and almost an equally vast literature on the Y‐chromosome, transmitted by fathers to their sons only. Characterization of mtDNA, its methods of detection, and history of research in North American indigenous peoples, including its patterns of variation have been provided (Bolnick, Raff, Springs, Reynolds, & Miró‐Herrans, ; Kemp & Schurr, ; Merriwether, ). Karafet () has provided similar information about Y‐chromosome variants in Native North Americans.…”

“…In my view, the big picture is certainly there, but I remain concerned about the paucity of genomic data from North American peoples. As Bolnick et al () have noted, Indians from the United States are under‐represented, and I would add Canadian First Nations to that. The current battery of SNPs and whole genomes just does not do justice to the known genetic and linguistic variation that is present in North American peoples, and this may have impact not only on early colonization models, but also on the construction of regional histories, regardless of the sophistication of those studies.…”