The Genetic Prehistory of the Andean Highlands 7,000 Years BP though European Contact

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Ancient DNA in Service of Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The peopling of the Andean highlands above 2500m in elevation was a complex process

that included cultural, biological and genetic adaptations. Here we present a time series of ancient

whole genomes from the Andes of Peru, dating back to 7,000 calendar years before present (BP),

and compare them to 64 new genome-wide genetic variation datasets from both high and lowland

populations. We infer three significant features: a split between low and high elevation populations

30 that occurred between 9200-8200 BP; a population collapse after European contact that is

significantly more severe in South American lowlanders than in highland populations; and

evidence for positive selection at genetic loci related to starch digestion and plausibly pathogen

resistance after European contact. Importantly, we do not find selective sweep signals related to

known components of the human hypoxia response, which may suggest more complex modes of

35 genetic adaptation to high altitude.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Ancient DNA in Service of Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25010