Cited by 301Forensic and Genetic ResearchArchaeology and ancient environmental studiesPaleopathology and ancient diseases

Archaeogenomic evidence reveals prehistoric matrilineal dynasty

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Kennett, Douglas J., Plog, Stephen, George, Richard J., Culleton, Brendan J., Watson, Adam S., Skoglund, Pontus, Rohland, Nadin, Mallick, Swapan +6 more·2017·Nature Communications

Abstract

For societies with writing systems, hereditary leadership is documented as one of the hallmarks of early political complexity and governance. In contrast, it is unknown whether hereditary succession played a role in the early formation of prehistoric complex societies that lacked writing. Here we use an archaeogenomic approach to identify an elite matriline that persisted between 800 and 1130 CE in Chaco Canyon, the centre of an expansive prehistoric complex society in the Southwestern United States. We show that nine individuals buried in an elite crypt at Pueblo Bonito, the largest structure in the canyon, have identical mitochondrial genomes. Analyses of nuclear genome data from six samples with the highest DNA preservation demonstrate mother–daughter and grandmother–grandson relationships, evidence for a multigenerational matrilineal descent group. Together, these results demonstrate the persistence of an elite matriline in Chaco for ∼330 years.

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  • Pairwise allele mismatch rates of all newly reported individuals were calculated to avoid bias from including related individuals in analyzed populations.

    “To avoid bias associated with including related individuals into analyzed populations, we calculated the pairwise allele mismatch rates of all newly reported individuals following a method described elsewhere (fig. S1) (42).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Lévi-Strauss C. The Way of the Masks University of Washington Press (1982).
  2. Marden K. Taphonomy, paleopathology and mortuary variability in Chaco Canyon: using bioarchaeological and forensic methods to understand ancient cultural practices (PhD thesis, Tulane Univ, (2011).

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Authors
Kennett, D. J., Plog, S., George, R. J., Culleton, B. J., Watson, A. S., Skoglund, P., Rohland, N., Mallick, S., Stewardson, K., Kistler, L., LeBlanc, S. A., Whiteley, P. M., Reich, D., & Perry, G. H.
Affiliations
  • Pennsylvania State University (US)
  • University of Virginia (US)
  • American Museum of Natural History (US)
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Broad Institute (US)
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
Corresponding author
  • Kennett, Douglas J.
  • Plog, Stephen
  • Perry, George H.
Venue
Nature Communications
Published
2017-02-21
Volume
8
Issue
1
Pages
14115-14115
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2589264580
Cited by
301
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 21 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 70 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 16
FWCI
17.38
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (BCS-1460367)
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Forensic and Genetic Research
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Paleopathology and ancient diseases
Keywords
hereditary succession, Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, mitochondrial DNA, nuclear genome, mother-daughter relationships, matrilineal descent, Ancestral Puebloans
MeSH terms
Archaeology, Burial, DNA, Mitochondrial, Female, Fossils, Geography, Haplotypes, Humans, Indians, North American, Male, New Mexico, Pedigree, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Genomics, Radiometric Dating

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