Paleo-Eskimo mtDNA Genome Reveals Matrilineal Discontinuity in Greenland

The Paleo-Eskimo Saqqaq and Independence I cultures, documented from archaeological remains in Northern Canada and Greenland, represent the earliest human expansion into the New World's northern extremes. However, their origin and genetic relationship to later cultures are unknown. We sequenced...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2008-06, Vol.320 (5884), p.1787-1789
Main Authors: Gilbert, M. Thomas P, Kivisild, Toomas, Grønnow, Bjarne, Andersen, Pernille K, Metspalu, Ene, Reidla, Maere, Tamm, Erika, Axelsson, Erik, Götherström, Anders, Campos, Paula F, Rasmussen, Morten, Metspalu, Mait, Higham, Thomas F.G, Schwenninger, Jean-Luc, Nathan, Roger, De Hoog, Cees-Jan, Koch, Anders, Møller, Lone Nukaaraq, Andreasen, Claus, Meldgaard, Morten, Villems, Richard, Bendixen, Christian, Willerslev, Eske
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal genetics
Anthropology
Archaeology
Asian Continental Ancestry Group - genetics
Biologi
Biology
DNA
DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Emigration and Immigration
Exact sciences and technology
Female
Genetic markers
Genetic variation
Genetics, Population
Genome, Mitochondrial
Genomes
Genomics
Geographic regions
Greenland
Hair
Hair - chemistry
Haplotypes
History, Ancient
Humans
Indians, North American - genetics
Insect genetics
Inuits - classification
Inuits - genetics
Inuits - history
Male
Mitochondrial DNA
Molecular Sequence Data
Native Americans
NATURAL SCIENCES
NATURVETENSKAP
Paleontology
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
Radiocarbon
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Vertebrate paleontology
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Summary:The Paleo-Eskimo Saqqaq and Independence I cultures, documented from archaeological remains in Northern Canada and Greenland, represent the earliest human expansion into the New World's northern extremes. However, their origin and genetic relationship to later cultures are unknown. We sequenced a mitochondrial genome from a Paleo-Eskimo human by using 3400-to 4500-year-old frozen hair excavated from an early Greenlandic Saqqaq settlement. The sample is distinct from modern Native Americans and Neo-Eskimos, falling within haplogroup D2a1, a group previously observed among modern Aleuts and Siberian Sireniki Yuit. This result suggests that the earliest migrants into the New World's northern extremes derived from populations in the Bering Sea area and were not directly related to Native Americans or the later Neo-Eskimos that replaced them.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1159750