Repatriation and a Biological Profile of Indigenous Remains of West Texas

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The subject of this study is an Indigenous pre-Colonial individual from Southwest Texas. The individual was obtained from a private collector and is dated to the Archaic. With tribal approval and support an emphasis has been made to establish an ancestral profile with the end goal of repatriation. To facilitate this, the Indigenous individuals in the region have requested a biological profile to gain insight into the individual's life. Analyses of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups and stable isotopes δ15 N and δ13C are included in this process. δ15 N and δ13C isotopes result from the population’s diet and crops that were relied upon. Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups give insight into population relationships and potentially establish ancestral ties with modern populations today. With permission, consent, and transparency the haplogroup is compared with modern Indigenous individuals of West Texas. Repatriation is the main goal of analyses while confronting the handling and trafficking in today’s world of Indigenous ancestors obtained from private collectors and other establishments.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39775.0