Cell
Volume 181, Issue 5, 28 May 2020, Pages 1131-1145.e21
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Article
A Paleogenomic Reconstruction of the Deep Population History of the Andes

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.015Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Ancient DNA transect reveals north-south substructure of Andean highlands by 5,800 BP

  • After 5,800 BP, gene flow mixed highland people with their neighbors

  • After 2,000 BP, striking genetic continuity through rise and fall of major cultures

Summary

There are many unanswered questions about the population history of the Central and South Central Andes, particularly regarding the impact of large-scale societies, such as the Moche, Wari, Tiwanaku, and Inca. We assembled genome-wide data on 89 individuals dating from ∼9,000-500 years ago (BP), with a particular focus on the period of the rise and fall of state societies. Today’s genetic structure began to develop by 5,800 BP, followed by bi-directional gene flow between the North and South Highlands, and between the Highlands and Coast. We detect minimal admixture among neighboring groups between ∼2,000–500 BP, although we do detect cosmopolitanism (people of diverse ancestries living side-by-side) in the heartlands of the Tiwanaku and Inca polities. We also highlight cases of long-range mobility connecting the Andes to Argentina and the Northwest Andes to the Amazon Basin.

Keywords

Andes
population genetics
archaeology
anthropology
ancient DNA

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