Collaborative Research: Origins and population history of marine and terrestrial hunter-gatherer groups

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While we have a deep understanding of human migration and history in some regions of the planet, the peopling of the Americas is still relatively under-studied. With support from SBE-BCS-Biological Anthropology and the Office of Integrative Activities' NSF 2026 Fund Program and Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Drs. Alfonso-Durruty (Kansas State University), Misarti (University of Alaska Fairbanks), and Bolnick (University of Connecticut) will use skeletal, genetic, dietary and archaeological data to examine two distinct ecological adaptations, terrestrial and marine hunting/gathering, that are highly specialized and appear in the archaeological record at different times. By using multiple sources of information, this study will effectively expand our knowledge and understanding of the Indigenous Peoples of a remote region of the Americas. The project will foster international scientific research collaborations, engage with local communities, and provide training, mentoring, and learning opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students in subjects such as the production of 3D analogs and 3D digital data, database design and management, scientific communication and dissemination, molecular anthropology, and the chemical (stable isotope) analyses of bone for dietary reconstructions. The project also will address two of the top thirty-three NSF 2026 Idea Machine entries: “Designing Ecosystems for the Future” and “Reversibility: Future of Life on Earth." This study will utilize biodistance markers, stable isotope data, next-generation genome sequencing, radio-carbon dating, and statistical methods to estimate biodistance, compare and evaluate diets, and reconstruct the population history of indigenous groups. The data will be analyzed to determine whether or not pre-contact terrestrial and marine groups had different origins, or whether the earlier terrestrial hunter gatherers eventually gave rise to marine groups. The extended period of time covered by the data to be collected will allow for reconstruction of the dynamics involved in the population history of a remote region of the Americas.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.