Ancient DNA and isotope analyses from Misión Salesiana, Tierra del Fuego

K. HARKINS; JOSEFINA M. B. MOTTI,; CUELLO MARIELA; L.O. VALENZUELA; BUIKSTRA J.; CLAUDIO M. BRAVI; ANNE C. STONE,; P. GARCÍA LABORDE; MARIA NIEVES COLON; RICARDO A. GUICHÓN

Atlanta

Congreso; 85th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists; 2016

American Association of Physical Anthropologists

Archaeological and biological data fromindividuals interred in the cemetery at MisiónSalesiana (?Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria?) inTierra del Fuego provide insight into the socialand population history of this region. Themission was established in 1893 to Christianizethe remaining Selknam, and the majority ofburials in the cemetery are about 100 years old.Oxygen isotope and mitochondrial genome datawere collected from individuals recovered duringarchaeological excavations at the cemetery.Oxygen isotope data (n=10) from tooth enamelsuggest that most individuals buried in thecemetery are from the local region but oneindividual has a non-local signature.Mitochondrial genome sequences were recoveredfrom all 15 individuals tested, and C1b and D1g5were the most common lineages (47% and 17%,respectively). Two additional Native Americanlineages, D4h3a5 and C1c4 were found at lowerfrequencies (13% and 7%, respectively). Thislast lineage has not been previously reported innatives from Tierra del Fuego and corresponds tothe individual with a non-local oxygen isotopevalue. Surprisingly, one individual had haplotypeH1c which most likely reflects the inclusion ofEuropean individuals in the cemetery. These datawere compared with those from modern samplesfrom Argentina and Chile, including five newlygenerated mitogenomes from northern Tierra delFuego. Both, modern and ancient samples sharethe same mitochondrial clades, which arerestricted to southern South America. All C1bsamples share two polymorphisms in the codingregion, which define a new southern Patagonianclade.