Eske Willerslev and team link Native American community to their ancestors through ancient DNA

Using tiny fragments of bones and teeth dated to between 500 and 700 years ago, along with saliva samples from living members of the Picuris Pueblo, Willerslev and his team at the University of Copenhagen have demonstrated a genetic link between the Picuris Pueblo and the Pueblo Bonito site in Chaco Canyon.

Located in the southwestern United States, Chaco Canyon is considered a sacred place by the Picuris Pueblo, central to their origin.

“The study is an example of the collaboration between a community and researchers that hopefully inspires similar partnerships. It also shows the importance of having archaeological and anthropological context as we continue investigating ancient DNA,” says Eske Willerslev, professor at the Globe Institute, who led the study.

Published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, the study is the result of a rare collaboration between DNA researchers and archaeologists from the University of Copenhagen, Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Texas, and the Picuris people. Read the full study here.

DNA from centuries-old material

Ancient DNA refers to genetic material extracted from organisms that lived thousands - or even hundreds of thousands - of years ago. In humans, it can be retrieved from bones, teeth, hair, and soft tissue.

To investigate the genetic connection between the Picuris Pueblo and their ancestors in Chaco Canyon, researchers at the Globe Institute extracted DNA at dedicated ancient DNA clean labs from microscopic samples of bones and teeth - each smaller than 1/20 of a teaspoon. From these, they generated genomes from 16 historical individuals from the Picuris Pueblo, who lived within the past 1,000 years.

Additionally, 13 living members of the Picuris Pueblo provided saliva samples. The DNA was analyzed and compared with data from 300 American population groups and over 5,500 individuals worldwide.

A powerful tool for archaeology

The results show that no other known population – past or present – is more genetically closely related to Chaco Canyon than both the ancient and living members of the Picuris Pueblo.

“Ancient DNA is good for the discipline of archaeology, because it gives us information about ancient peoples that excavated items simply can’t” says David Meltzer, professor of prehistoric archaeology at SMU, Texas.

“Through this work, we have a greater understanding of things like migration patterns, dietary and lifestyle choices, contact between populations and even disease evolution. This is a powerful tool that answers questions we never imagined could be addressed,” he adds.

While oral traditions from the Picuris and other indigenous groups often reference Chaco Canyon as part of their history, this has been a topic of academic debate. Despite being one of the oldest communities in North America, the history of the Picuris is marked by significant gaps due to historical marginalization, land loss, and colonial oppression.

“For centuries, indigenous communities have relied on deep ecological knowledge to sustain their lands and cultures,” says Picuris Pueblo Governor Craig Quanchello.

“Using DNA analysis to trace our people's relationships to sacred lands and water sources reinforces our legal claims while preserving cultural heritage,” he says.

While the study establish a genetic relationship between the Picuris Pueblo-people and Chaco Canyon, it does not touch on other Tribal Nations' relationship to the sacred place, says Thomaz Pionetti, who headed the study.

"What it does is to add a new line of evidence supporting Picuris' claim that their ancestors were part of the Chaco regional system, which influenced much of the Southwest 1,000 years ago," he says.

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