The genetic prehistory of the New World Arctic.

• Main Authors: Raghavan, Maanasa, DeGiorgio, Michael, Albrechtsen, Anders, Moltke, Ida, Skoglund, Pontus, Korneliussen, Thorfinn S, Grønnow, Bjarne, Appelt, Martin, Gulløv, Hans Christian, Friesen, T Max, Fitzhugh, William, Malmström, Helena, Rasmussen, Simon, Olsen, Jesper, Melchior, Linea, Fuller, Benjamin T, Fahrni, Simon M, Stafford, Thomas, Grimes, Vaughan, Renouf, MA Priscilla, Cybulski, Jerome, Lynnerup, Niels, Lahr, Marta Mirazon, Britton, Kate, Knecht, Rick, Arneborg, Jette, Metspalu, Mait, Cornejo, Omar E, Malaspinas, Anna-Sapfo, Wang, Yong, Rasmussen, Morten, Raghavan, Vibha, Hansen, Thomas VO, Khusnutdinova, Elza, Pierre, Tracey, Dneprovsky, Kirill, Andreasen, Claus, Lange, Hans, Hayes, M Geoffrey, Coltrain, Joan, Spitsyn, Victor A, Götherström, Anders, Orlando, Ludovic, Kivisild, Toomas, Villems, Richard, Crawford, Michael H, Nielsen, Finn C, Dissing, Jørgen, Heinemeier, Jan, Meldgaard, Morten, Bustamante, Carlos, O'Rourke, Dennis H, Jakobsson, Mattias, Gilbert, M Thomas P, Nielsen, Rasmus, Willerslev, Eske
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2014
• Subjects: Alaska; Arctic Regions; Base Sequence; Bone and Bones; Canada; DNA; Mitochondrial; Genome; Human; Greenland; Hair; History; Ancient; Human Migration; Humans; Inuit; Molecular Sequence Data; Siberia; Survivors; Tooth; Arctic; Newfoundland; Morrison; Chesterfield Inlet; eskimo*; inuit; Kitikmeot; Kivalliq; Paleo-Eskimo; Polar Continental Shelf Project; Aleutian Islands
• Online Access: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/246505

The New World Arctic, the last region of the Americas to be populated by humans, has a relatively well-researched archaeology, but an understanding of its genetic history is lacking. We present genome-wide sequence data from ancient and present-day humans from Greenland, Arctic Canada, Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and Siberia. We show that Paleo-Eskimos (~3000 BCE to 1300 CE) represent a migration pulse into the Americas independent of both Native American and Inuit expansions. Furthermore, the genetic continuity characterizing the Paleo-Eskimo period was interrupted by the arrival of a new population, representing the ancestors of present-day Inuit, with evidence of past gene flow between these lineages. Despite periodic abandonment of major Arctic regions, a single Paleo-Eskimo metapopulation likely survived in near-isolation for more than 4000 years, only to vanish around 700 years ago. We thank the Danish National Sequencing Centre, T. B. Brand and P. S. Olsen for technical assistance, anonymous donors for providing DNA samples, A. Helgason and S. Sunna Ebenesersdóttir from deCODE for their input on mtDNA phylogenies, A, Di Rienzo for access to genotyping data from Siberian populations, J. R. Southon (BTF), Kitikmeot Heritage Society (TMF), Polar Continental Shelf Project (TMF), Inuit Heritage Trust (DHO’R, JeC, JoC, MGH), Kivalliq Inuit Association (DHO’R, JoC, MGH), communities of Coral Harbor and Chesterfield Inlet (DHO’R, JoC, MGH), Canadian Museum of History (DHO’R, JeC, JoC, MGH), D. Morrison (DHO’R, JeC, JoC, MGH), L. Wood (DHO’R, JoC, MGH), J. Young (DHO’R, JeC, JoC, MGH), D. Stenton (DHO’R, JeC, JoC, MGH), S. Girling-Christie (JeC), Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland (JA), Greenland National Museum & Archives (JA), Parks Canada (MAPR, VG), Memorial University (VG, MAPR), Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (VG), The Rooms Inc. (VG), Innu Nation (VG), Nunatsiavut Government (VG), Miawpukek First Nation (VG), D. Lavers (VG), R. Anstey (VG), W. Jones and Qanirtuuq Inc., Quinhagak, ...