Genetic analysis of early holocene skeletal remains from Alaska and its implications for the settlement of the Americas

Brian M. Kemp; Ripan S. Malhi; John McDonough; Deborah A. Bolnick; Jason A. Eshleman; Olga Rickards; Cristina Martinez-Labarga; John R. Johnson; Joseph G. Lorenz; E. James Dixon; Terence E. Fifield; Timothy H. Heaton; Rosita Worl; David Glenn Smith

doi:10.1002/ajpa.20543

Genetic analysis of early holocene skeletal remains from Alaska and its implications for the settlement of the Americas

Brian M. Kemp, Ripan S. Malhi, John McDonough, Deborah A. Bolnick, Jason A. Eshleman, Olga Rickards, Cristina Martinez-Labarga, John R. Johnson, Joseph G. Lorenz, E. James Dixon, Terence E. Fifield, Timothy H. Heaton, Rosita Worl, David Glenn Smith

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA were analyzed from 10,300-year-old human remains excavated from On Your Knees Cave on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska (Site 49-PET-408). This individual's mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) represents the founder haplotype of an additional subhaplogroup of haplogroup D that was brought to the Americas, demonstrating that widely held assumptions about the genetic composition of the earliest Americans are incorrect. The amount of diversity that has accumulated in the subhaplogroup over the past 10,300 years suggests that previous calibrations of the mtDNA clock may have underestimated the rate of molecular evolution. If substantiated, the dates of events based on these previous estimates are too old, which may explain the discordance between inferences based on genetic and archaeological evidence regarding the timing of the settlement of the Americas. In addition, this individual's Y-chromosome belongs to haplogroup Q-M3*, placing a minimum date of 10,300 years ago for the emergence of this haplogroup.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	605-621
Number of pages	17
Journal	American journal of physical anthropology
Volume	132
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20543
State	Published - Apr 2007

Keywords

Ancient DNA
Mitochondrial DNA
Molecular clock
Phylogenetic dispersion
Y-chromosome

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Anatomy
Anthropology

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10.1002/ajpa.20543

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Kemp, B. M., Malhi, R. S., McDonough, J., Bolnick, D. A., Eshleman, J. A., Rickards, O., Martinez-Labarga, C., Johnson, J. R., Lorenz, J. G., Dixon, E. J., Fifield, T. E., Heaton, T. H., Worl, R., & Smith, D. G. (2007). Genetic analysis of early holocene skeletal remains from Alaska and its implications for the settlement of the Americas. American journal of physical anthropology, 132(4), 605-621. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20543

Kemp, BM, Malhi, RS, McDonough, J, Bolnick, DA, Eshleman, JA, Rickards, O, Martinez-Labarga, C, Johnson, JR, Lorenz, JG, Dixon, EJ, Fifield, TE, Heaton, TH, Worl, R & Smith, DG 2007, 'Genetic analysis of early holocene skeletal remains from Alaska and its implications for the settlement of the Americas', American journal of physical anthropology, vol. 132, no. 4, pp. 605-621. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20543

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abstract = "Mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA were analyzed from 10,300-year-old human remains excavated from On Your Knees Cave on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska (Site 49-PET-408). This individual's mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) represents the founder haplotype of an additional subhaplogroup of haplogroup D that was brought to the Americas, demonstrating that widely held assumptions about the genetic composition of the earliest Americans are incorrect. The amount of diversity that has accumulated in the subhaplogroup over the past 10,300 years suggests that previous calibrations of the mtDNA clock may have underestimated the rate of molecular evolution. If substantiated, the dates of events based on these previous estimates are too old, which may explain the discordance between inferences based on genetic and archaeological evidence regarding the timing of the settlement of the Americas. In addition, this individual's Y-chromosome belongs to haplogroup Q-M3*, placing a minimum date of 10,300 years ago for the emergence of this haplogroup.",

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AU - Fifield, Terence E.

AU - Heaton, Timothy H.

AU - Worl, Rosita

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Genetic analysis of early holocene skeletal remains from Alaska and its implications for the settlement of the Americas

Abstract

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