Picuris Pueblo, a relatively small Tribal Nation in northern New Mexico, has recently entered into a pioneering undertaking. They’re using genetic data to rediscover their ancient past. Members of Picuris Pueblo have kept alive – as they have for hundreds of years – oral histories tracing their lineage to ancestors who flourished across the area. New collaborative research done together with scientists has proved these ancestral claims to be true. Importantly, it has connected the Picuris people to Chaco Canyon, a significant archaeological site located some 275 kilometers to their west.
Chaco Canyon was the center of a highly developed society that flourished between 850 and 1150 AD. This extraordinary civilization based on this form of agriculture included over 200 Great House communities. The Picuris Pueblo’s oral histories, often called historical narratives, tell of cultural roots and ties to an ancient people. The tribe departed, fleeing a newly formed centralized political organization that enforced strict social strata and hierarchies of power, around 1200 AD. At present, the Picuris Pueblo community is made up of 306 members who live and work to preserve their traditions.
Archaeologist David Hurst Thomas goes so far as to call the study a “landmark project.” An interdisciplinary team of geneticists, archaeologists and anthropologists compared DNA taken from 16 individuals buried at Picuris Pueblo within the last 700 to 500 years. This analysis was an attempt to break out new information that would assist in filling holes in the tribe’s story. In order to create a control against which to compare the ancient samples, blood draws were done from 13 present-day members of the tribe.
Genetic analyses offered powerful new evidence about the population history of the Picuris Pueblo. Spanish colonial rule started in the mid-1500s. Genetic data indicates that the population went through a genetic bottleneck, undergoing a decline of around 85 percent during these years. Modern Picuris demonstrate clear signatures of inherited gene variant patterns. This new evidence implies their population leveled out at around 3,000 people once they departed the Chaco settlements. Only remains after 1535 had DNA connections to present-day Athabascan peoples. These clans possibly migrated into the U.S. Southwest as early as 1450.
Danish independent researcher and University of Copenhagen evolutionary geneticist Eske Willerslev, a leader of the collaborative effort to understand the genetic data. Picuris Pueblo officials welcomed him to participate in this meaningful endeavor. This effort serves not only to authenticate oral histories but help the tribal nation reconnect with their ancestors.
Craig Quanchello, lieutenant governor and study coauthor of Picuris Pueblo, expressed the emotional impact of the findings, stating:
“Our elders knew we had always been here, but it was very moving and powerful to see it validated on paper that we have a maternal genetic link to Chaco Canyon.”
Tribe members hope that this new research will reaffirm the tribe’s spiritual and historical connection with its ancestral homeland. It further deepens Picuris Pueblo’s cultural and historical awareness. Now the tribe is reclaiming its history, identity, and heritage. They combine cutting-edge scientific research with indigenous oral traditions, paying deep respect to their history and where they are today.
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