Demographic history and genetic structure in pre-Hispanic Central Mexico
Villa-Islas V, Izarraras-Gomez A, Larena M, Campos EMP, Sandoval-Velasco M, Rodríguez-Rodríguez JE, Bravo-Lopez M, Moguel B, Fregel R, Garfias-Morales E, Medina Tretmanis J, Velázquez-Ramírez DA, Herrera-Muñóz A, Sandoval K, Nieves-Colón MA, Zepeda García Moreno G, Villanea FA, Medina EFV, Aguayo-Haro R, Valdiosera C, Ioannidis AG, Moreno-Estrada A, Jay F, Huerta-Sanchez E, Moreno-Mayar JV, Sánchez-Quinto F, Ávila-Arcos MC.
Abstract
Author Manuscript Aridoamerica and Mesoamerica are two distinct cultural areas in northern and central Mexico, respectively, that hosted numerous pre-Hispanic civilizations between 2,500 BCE and 1,521 CE. The division between these regions shifted southward due to severe droughts ca. 1,100 years ago, allegedly driving a population replacement in central Mexico by Aridoamerican peoples. Here, we present shotgun genome-wide data from 12 individuals and 27 mitochondrial genomes from eight pre-Hispanic archaeological sites across Mexico, including two at the shifting border of Aridoamerica and Mesoamerica. We find population continuity spanning the climate change episode and a broad preservation of the genetic structure across present-day Mexico for the last 2,300 years. Lastly, we identify a contribution to pre-Hispanic populations of northern and central Mexico from two ancient unsampled ‘ghost’ populations.
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