Latest news with #PicurisPueblo
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Groundbreaking' ancient DNA research confirms Pueblo peoples' ties to famous Chaco Canyon site
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A "groundbreaking" DNA analysis of a small Pueblo tribe in New Mexico supports what their oral tradition has long described — that they're related to ancestral people who lived on their land, as well as to Indigenous people who lived a few hundreds miles away at Chaco Canyon. The new research is the first DNA evidence that the federally recognized tribe, known as Picuris Pueblo, has ancestral ties to Chacoans buried at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a place many Southwest Indigenous peoples consider sacred. "We've always said we have this deep connection to Chaco Canyon," study co-author Craig Quanchello, the lieutenant governor of Picuris Pueblo, said at a news conference on April 29. "It not only runs through our veins, but now through science." Picuris Pueblo, where the tribe lives, is in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico, about 60 miles (100 kilometres) north of Santa Fe. It was historically one of the most populated pueblos, with over 3,000 tribal members around 1600. But in the decades following European contact in 1591, death, disease and religious persecution reduced the Picuris population significantly. Now, tribal membership is around 300 individuals. Related: Ancient Indigenous lineage of Blackfoot Confederacy goes back 18,000 years to last ice age, DNA reveals Oral histories from Picuris elders have long connected the tribe to Chaco Canyon, Picuris Pueblo Governor Wayne Yazza said at the news conference. But knowledge lost over centuries of violence has led to gaps in historical knowledge. To learn more about their genetic heritage, Picuris Pueblo leadership contacted researchers in 2020. In that study, whose results were published Wednesday (April 30) in the journal Nature, researchers analyzed ancient DNA from 16 individuals buried in Picuris Pueblo dated to between 500 and 700 years ago, as well as 13 genomes from currently enrolled members of Picuris Pueblo. They compared these genomes to 590 ancient and modern genomes from the Americas and Siberia, since the first Americans traveled across a land bridge connecting Siberia with Alaska during the last ice age at least 23,000 years ago. Their results revealed that the modern Picuris are related to those who lived in the pueblo centuries ago. The analysis also indicated that the Picuris are related to Anzick-1, a child who lived 13,000 years ago in what is now Montana and was part of an Indigenous American group called the Clovis. But "part of their [the Picuris] ancestry is actually older than the ancestry that we find in the Clovis individual," study lead author Thomaz Pinotti, a geogeneticist at the University of Copenhagen, said at the news conference. The study also found a genetic link between the Picuris and nine individuals buried centuries ago in Chaco Canyon's Pueblo Bonito between 800 and 1130. Those individuals were analyzed in a 2017 Nature Communications study that faced backlash from tribal nations and researchers for failing to consult with local tribes during the study's design. "We were pretty twisted up about using these data, because we knew how controversial they were," study co-author Mike Adler, an associate professor of anthropology at Southern Methodist University, said at the news conference. "When we brought this up to the tribal council, it was a very simple response: 'That's not your call. That's our call. You should use these data, because it's an avenue to better our understanding of our own past.'" RELATED STORIES —The 1st Americans were not who we thought they were —13 of the oldest archaeological sites in the Americas —Did humans cross the Bering Strait after the land bridge disappeared? Meradeth Snow, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Montana who wasn't involved in the study, told Live Science the new study is "groundbreaking in a lot of ways." "The fact that this was really something that was initiated by the Picuris [people] — that is amazing and really interesting," she said. However, she emphasized that this type of partnership may not be of interest to other Indigenous peoples. Western scientists have a long history of taking Native American ancestral remains and conducting studies without permission from tribes. "I understand that there's definitely going to be different tribes in that region that are not going to be for this [type of DNA analysis]. And that's totally understandable. There's certainly been plenty of abuse of DNA data."
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ancient DNA confirms New Mexico tribe's link to famed Chaco Canyon site
Christina Larson Associated Press For the first time, a federally recognized Indigenous tribe in the U.S. has led research using DNA to show their ancestral history. The Picuris Pueblo, a sovereign nation in New Mexico, has oral histories and cultural traditions that link the tribe to the region of Chaco Canyon, one of the ancient centers of Pueblo culture and society. 'We've been telling our stories as long as time immemorial,' said Picuris Lt. Gov. Craig Quanchello. But he said those traditions were often "overlooked and erased." As citizens of the Picuris Pueblo seek a greater voice in shaping decisions about the future of Chaco Canyon, where debates about oil and gas drilling loom, leaders including Quanchello decided that using DNA sequencing to complement or corroborate their oral histories could be a useful tool. The group began a collaboration with an international team of geneticists. "The DNA could help us protect" our heritage, he said. "Now we can say, 'This is ours, we need to protect it.'" The findings, published April 30 in the journal Nature, show close links between the genomes of 13 current citizens of Picuris and ancient DNA recovered from 16 Picuris individuals who lived between 1300 A.D. and 1500 A.D. in or near Chaco Canyon. 'The results show a strong relationship between ancient and present-day Picuris,' said co-author Thomaz Pinotti, a geneticist at the University of Copenhagen. The genetic analysis was led by the Picuris. The researchers said this model of collaboration contrasts with a long history of archaeologists and geneticists seizing and studying artifacts and remains without the consent of Indigenous groups. 'It wasn't an easy decision' to begin the collaboration with scientists, said co-author and Picuris Gov. Wayne Yazza. 'This is life-changing data.' There are 19 Pueblo tribes in New Mexico. The new study does not refute the historic connections of other tribes to Chaco Canyon. Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site managed by the U.S. National Park Service. It is famous for sweeping desert vistas and for monumental sandstone structures — including multistory homes and ceremonial structures — built by ancestral Pueblos. 'It's super important that we don't talk about Chaco in the category of 'lost civilizations,' like the Egyptian pyramids or Stonehenge,' said Paul Reed, a preservation archaeologist at Archaeology Southwest, who was not involved in the study. That notion "is particularly damaging in this instance because it disenfranchises the Pueblo people who live all around the canyon to this day.' Brian Vallo, a citizen of the Acoma Pueblo who leads the Chaco Heritage Tribal Association, said a current concern revolves around drilling and mining permits on federal land adjacent to the park, which also impact the environment within the canyon. 'We have these close connections because our ancestors migrated and built these places –- they remain central to the preservation of our own Indigenous culture,' said Vallo, who was not part of the research.
San Francisco Chronicle
30-04-2025
- Science
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ancient DNA confirms New Mexico tribe's link to famed Chaco Canyon site
For the first time, a federally recognized Indigenous tribe in the U.S. has led research using DNA to show their ancestral history. The Picuris Pueblo, a sovereign nation in New Mexico, has oral histories and cultural traditions that link the tribe to the region of Chaco Canyon, one of the ancient centers of Pueblo culture and society. 'We've been telling our stories as long as time immemorial,' said Picuris Lt. Gov. Craig Quanchello. But he said those traditions were often "overlooked and erased." As members of the Picuris Pueblo seek a greater voice in shaping decisions about the future of Chaco Canyon, where debates about oil and gas drilling loom, leaders including Quanchello decided that using DNA sequencing to complement or corroborate their oral histories could be a useful tool. The group began a collaboration with an international team of geneticists. "The DNA could help us protect" our heritage, he said. "Now we can say, 'This is ours, we need to protect it.'" The findings, published Thursday in the journal Nature, show close links between the genomes of 13 current members of Picuris and ancient DNA recovered from 16 Picuris individuals who lived between 1300 A.D. and 1500 A.D. in or near Chaco Canyon. 'The results show a strong relationship between ancient and present-day Picuris,' said co-author Thomaz Pinotti, a geneticist at the University of Copenhagen. The genetic analysis was led by the Picuris. The researchers said this model of collaboration contrasts with a long history of archaeologists and geneticists seizing and studying artifacts and remains without the consent of Indigenous groups. 'It wasn't an easy decision' to begin the collaboration with scientists, said co-author and Picuris Gov. Wayne Yazza. 'This is life-changing data.' There are 19 Pueblo tribes in New Mexico. The new study does not refute the historic connections of other tribes to Chaco Canyon. Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site managed by the U.S. National Park Service. It is famous for sweeping desert vistas and for monumental sandstone structures — including multistory homes and ceremonial structures — built by ancestral Pueblos. 'It's super important that we don't talk about Chaco in the category of 'lost civilizations,' like the Egyptian pyramids or Stonehenge,' said Paul Reed, a preservation archaeologist at Archaeology Southwest, who was not involved in the study. That notion "is particularly damaging in this instance because it disenfranchises the Pueblo people who live all around the canyon to this day.' Brian Vallo, a member of the Acoma Pueblo who leads the Chaco Heritage Tribal Association, said a current concern revolves around drilling and mining permits on federal land adjacent to the park, which also impact the environment within the canyon. 'We have these close connections because our ancestors migrated and built these places –- they remain central to the preservation of our own Indigenous culture,' said Vallo, who was not part of the research. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Winnipeg Free Press
30-04-2025
- Science
- Winnipeg Free Press
Oral histories and now DNA of Picuris Pueblo link their ancestors to Chaco Canyon
For the first time, a federally recognized Indigenous tribe in the U.S. has led research using DNA to show their ancestral history. The Picuris Pueblo, a sovereign nation in New Mexico, has oral histories and cultural traditions that link the tribe to the region of Chaco Canyon, one of the ancient centers of Pueblo culture and society. 'We've been telling our stories as long as time immemorial,' said Picuris Lt. Gov. Craig Quanchello. But he said those traditions were often 'overlooked and erased.' As members of the Picuris Pueblo seek a greater voice in shaping decisions about the future of Chaco Canyon, where debates about oil and gas drilling loom, leaders including Quanchello decided that using DNA sequencing to complement or corroborate their oral histories could be a useful tool. The group began a collaboration with an international team of geneticists. 'The DNA could help us protect' our heritage, he said. 'Now we can say, 'This is ours, we need to protect it.'' The findings, published Thursday in the journal Nature, show close links between the genomes of 13 current members of Picuris and ancient DNA recovered from 16 Picuris individuals who lived between 1300 A.D. and 1500 A.D. in or near Chaco Canyon. 'The results show a strong relationship between ancient and present-day Picuris,' said co-author Thomaz Pinotti, a geneticist at the University of Copenhagen. The genetic analysis was led by the Picuris. The researchers said this model of collaboration contrasts with a long history of archaeologists and geneticists seizing and studying artifacts and remains without the consent of Indigenous groups. 'It wasn't an easy decision' to begin the collaboration with scientists, said co-author and Picuris Gov. Wayne Yazza. 'This is life-changing data.' There are 19 Pueblo tribes in New Mexico. The new study does not refute the historic connections of other tribes to Chaco Canyon. Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site managed by the U.S. National Park Service. It is famous for sweeping desert vistas and for monumental sandstone structures — including multistory homes and ceremonial structures — built by ancestral Pueblos. During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. 'It's super important that we don't talk about Chaco in the category of 'lost civilizations,' like the Egyptian pyramids or Stonehenge,' said Paul Reed, a preservation archaeologist at Archaeology Southwest, who was not involved in the study. That notion 'is particularly damaging in this instance because it disenfranchises the Pueblo people who live all around the canyon to this day.' Brian Vallo, a member of the Acoma Pueblo who leads the Chaco Heritage Tribal Association, said a current concern revolves around drilling and mining permits on federal land adjacent to the park, which also impact the environment within the canyon. 'We have these close connections because our ancestors migrated and built these places –- they remain central to the preservation of our own Indigenous culture,' said Vallo, who was not part of the research. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Washington Post
30-04-2025
- Science
- Washington Post
A tiny tribe wanted to shape the future of a famed canyon. Ancient DNA helped.
The elders of the Picuris Pueblo nation, a 300-person tribe in Northern New Mexico, have passed down their history for centuries. They trace ancestral connections to the famed complex of sandstone dwellings and roads at Chaco Canyon, a World Heritage site about 125 miles to the west. But the small tribe didn't have a 'seat at the table' or much influence when it came to the future of Chaco Canyon and debates about drilling in the area, said Picuris Lt. Gov. Craig Quanchello. Six years ago, the tribe took the unusual step of partnering with an international team of scientists to probe whether analysis of ancient DNA could strengthen their case and more firmly connect them to the community they wanted to shape. The findings, reported Wednesday in the journal Nature, confirm what the Picuris have always known — a continuous genetic thread connects human remains at Chaco Canyon to Picuris ancestors to modern-day people. The work also provides a possible new model for research involving Indigenous people, in which research is driven by the community. 'We steered this ship, in the hopes that using technology in the Western way, they would now listen,' Quanchello said at a news conference. 'We've always known who we are. Our elders [have] always known we've been here. Come to find out, everything we felt and knew [is] just validated on their terms.' The study is novel because research on Indigenous communities has often been exploitative. Scientists drop into a community and take samples — sometimes without proper consent — and publish results without consideration of how they might affect tribal members. The Havasupai tribe in Arizona, for example, sued Arizona State University in 2004 after samples collected for a study of type 2 diabetes were used without permission on other genetic studies. A 2017 genetic study of human remains in Chaco Canyon created a firestorm of criticism, because scientists failed to consult with tribal nations affiliated with the site. The new study offers an alternate way for such studies to occur, guided by the interests of the tribe. 'I truly believe that DNA can be used to help Indigenous people fight for their rights, their claims and their sovereignty,' said Thomaz Pinotti, a geneticist from the University of Copenhagen who led the work. Katrina Claw, a Navajo geneticist at the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus who was not involved in the study, said the tribe's participation is evident in the paper, which discusses the traditional knowledge of the Picuris alongside genetics. 'I think we're entering an era where ethical standards have changed — from 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago. It's changing rapidly, which is very positive,' Claw said. 'I like that scientists and researchers are trying to keep up with these changes.' Picuris is a small tribe today, but this wasn't always the case. Prior to the arrival of European colonizers, there were around 3,000 individuals according to the paper's estimate. Within a century, their population plummeted by 90 percent. Michael Adler, an archaeologist at Southern Methodist University, began working closely with the Picuris in the early 1990s. He said that Western scientists, including himself, knew embarrassingly little about the tribe's history at the time. The traditional 'archaeological worldview,' Adler said, was that the Picuris did not follow the ways of the Chacoan people to the west, who built 'great houses' of masonry with hundreds of rooms. Chaco was the center of the Pueblo world from about 850 to 1150. Nearly two dozen tribes have ancestral claims to the site. But around that same time, the Picaris built subterranean pit houses. Their pottery style was different. 'Even though everyday in class, we tell our students, 'pots aren't people, arrowheads aren't people,' we fall into the same pitfall,' Adler said. Traditional knowledge, however, was clear that Picuris people had a deep connection to Chaco Canyon. Tribal leaders said that line of evidence was often ignored. In 2019, Picuris tribal leaders were faced with a dilemma: what to do with human remains that had been exhumed in archaeological excavations that began in the 1960s. Tribal leaders wondered whether genetic analysis could help reveal their ties to Chaco Canyon. Members of the tribe began meeting with experts in ancient DNA from the University of Copenhagen via Zoom. Undertaking the project was risky, with concerns about how the data and samples might be used. After two years of consultation, they decided to move ahead. Eske Willerslev, an ancient DNA expert at the University of Copenhagen said that the tribe retained the right to call off the research at any point. 'There has unfortunately been a long history of harmful and unethical genomic research with Indigenous communities and Ancestors, and many Indigenous communities have had deep — and justifiable! — concerns about studies of their DNA and the DNA of their Ancestors,' Deborah Bolnick, an anthropological geneticist at the University of Connecticut who was not involved in the research, said in an email. Bolnick said she hoped to see tribal members directly involved in data collection and analysis, but she praised the current study as refreshing and positive. Anne Stone, an anthropological geneticist at Arizona State University, agreed. 'I think it's a very deliberative process when a community decides to participate. And given the politics and impact of colonialism — a very brave process. And I think this is a lovely example of a respectful dialogue between both parties.' In total, scientists analyzed DNA from 16 Picuris individuals who lived 500 to 700 years ago and 13 present-day individuals. They compared those data to the 2017 genetic study of human remains from Chaco Canyon, which had been criticized because tribal communities were not consulted. Scientists said that they were hesitant at first to use the controversial dataset. They brought the question before Picuris leaders. Those leaders said, 'It's not your call, that's our call,' Adler recalled being told. Those genomic data show a throughline, from Chaco Canyon to present day Picuris — reflecting traditional knowledge, and giving the Picuris a new line of evidence when trying to make their voices heard. The research team is quick to say they aren't making an exclusive claim. Other tribes also have genetic ties to Chaco ancestors. But now the Picuris know. 'We have it on their terms, with the science talk,' Quanchello said. 'It not only runs through our land, through our veins, but now through science.'
