Archaeogenomic evidence reveals prehistoric matrilineal dynasty

Douglas J. Kennett (), Stephen Plog (), Richard J. George, Brendan J. Culleton, Adam S. Watson, Pontus Skoglund, Nadin Rohland, Swapan Mallick, Kristin Stewardson, Logan Kistler, Steven A. LeBlanc, Peter M. Whiteley, David Reich and George H. Perry ()
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Douglas J. Kennett: Pennsylvania State University
Stephen Plog: University of Virginia
Richard J. George: Pennsylvania State University
Brendan J. Culleton: Pennsylvania State University
Adam S. Watson: American Museum of Natural History
Pontus Skoglund: Harvard Medical School
Nadin Rohland: Harvard Medical School
Swapan Mallick: Harvard Medical School
Kristin Stewardson: Harvard Medical School
Logan Kistler: Pennsylvania State University
Steven A. LeBlanc: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
Peter M. Whiteley: American Museum of Natural History
David Reich: Harvard Medical School
George H. Perry: Pennsylvania State University

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: 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.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14115

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