Keywords

genomics, archaeology, Casas Grandes region

Abstract

Paquimé, located in the Casas Grandes region of Northern Mexico, presents a rich cultural tradition with ties to populations to the South and North. Ancient mitochondrial DNA from Paquime’s occupants has not provided evidence of large-scale in-migration that led to the fluorescence of the site, as some scholars have hypothesized. This paper focuses on nuclear genomes that have been sequenced for 20+ Paquimé individuals, further demonstrating the complexity of the region and of the city. The emerging data (collected with approval from the Mexican Consejo de Arqueología) presents a clearer view both of the population’s genetic relationships with those to the North and South, and uniqueness in their own right. Intra-site variability, when approached from the different interment types, also demonstrates that the occupants of Paquimé were not culturally homogeneous in comparison to their neighbors, although there are some striking similarities. This project also highlights the benefits of international collaboration, and how researchers with different expertise can learn from each other and local communities.

Original Publication Citation

Snow, Meradeth, Michael T. Searcy, Jakob Sedig, José Luis Punzo Díaz 2023 Genomic Data from Paquimé: Understanding the Cultural and Genetic Ties of the Site. Paper presented at the 88th Annual Meeting of the of the Society for American Archaeology, Portland, OR.