Investigating the genetic history of the Central and Southern Plains

对古代个体基因组的研究改变了美洲的考古研究。但是，目前对这段早期历史的了解还远远不够完整，因为从构成今天美国的各个地区的土著人口中获得的基因组数据有限。这项研究由一个后代部落的代表和研究人员共同开展，通过对古代个体的基因组和稳定同位素的表征，提高了知识水平。这些发现为研究美洲最初的人类、美洲中部地区在与欧洲人接触之前和之后不久的人口历史，以及埋葬方式可能反映生物亲缘关系提供了至关重要的见解。该项目有助于研究生的教育，并为众多本科生提供研究经验。该项目的成果将与部落历史知识相结合，为参与的部落和公众制作教育材料。最后，在这个项目中，科学家和部落代表之间的合作方法有助于为遗传学研究提供最佳实践建议。近年来，对整个美洲古代个体的基因组测序已经开始揭示一个极其复杂的种群历史的轮廓。但是采样的差距，包括几乎完全缺乏来自当今美国中部地区的数据，限制了对这段历史的理解。通过古代DNA对美洲最初人类的问题进行了激烈的研究，这意味着在美国存在的少数古代基因组中，大多数来自美洲最古老遗址的单个个体。很少有完整的基因组存在于更近的环境中，这些环境可以提供关于几乎所有美洲土著人口经历的深刻人口变化的信息。这种数据的缺乏意味着现有的人口历史模型——尤其是对人口分裂日期和有效人口规模的估计——可能是不准确的。这个项目是部落代表和调查人员之间的一项研究合作，首次收集了大平原古代民族的基因组规模数据。利用这些数据可以实现三个主要目标：(1)使用接触前美洲土著个体的基因组来测试美洲初始人类的模型；(2)调查该地区的人口历史；(3)调查多个地点的殡葬处理、亲属关系和流动性之间的关系。本项目由生物人类学计划和促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The study of genomes from ancient individuals has transformed archaeological studies in the Americas. But current understanding of this early history is far from complete, owing to limited genomic data available from Indigenous populations throughout the regions that comprise the present-day United States. This research, jointly developed by representatives of a descendent tribe and investigators, advances knowledge through characterization of genomes and stable isotopes from ancient individuals. Findings provide critically important insights into the initial peopling of the Americas, the population history of central US regions prior to and shortly after European contact, and the way burial treatment may have reflected biological kinship. The project contributes to the education of a graduate student and provides research experiences for numerous undergraduate students. Results from this project will be integrated with tribal historic knowledge to produce educational materials for the participating tribe and the general public. Finally, the collaborative approach taken in this project between scientists and tribal representatives aids in the development of best practice recommendations for genetics research. In recent years genomes sequenced from ancient individuals throughout the Americas have started to reveal the contours of an extremely complex population history. But sampling gaps, including a nearly complete lack of data from the central portions of the present-day United States, limit the understanding of this history. An intense research focus on questions regarding the initial peopling of the Americas through ancient DNA means that of the few ancient genomes that exist from the United States, most are from single individuals from the very oldest sites in the Americas. Few complete genomes exist from more recent contexts that are informative about the profound demographic changes that nearly all Native American populations experienced. This lack of data means that existing models of population history—and particularly estimates of dates for population splits and effective population sizes—are likely inaccurate. This project, a research collaboration between tribal representatives and investigators, collects the first genomic-scale data from ancient peoples of the Great Plains. Three major objectives are being addressed with these data: (1) Test models for the initial peopling of the Americas using genomes from pre-contact Indigenous individuals of the region, (2) Investigate population histories of the region, (3) Investigate the relationship between mortuary treatment, kinship, and mobility at multiple sites. This project is jointly funded by the Biological Anthropology Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.