Published November 8, 2018 | Version v1
Journal article Open

The genetic prehistory of the Andean highlands 7000 years BP though European contact

  • 1. University of Chicago
  • 2. University of California, Davis
  • 3. University of Oklahoma
  • 4. Universidad de Chile
  • 5. University of Arizona
  • 6. Peruvian Register of Professional Archaeologists
  • 7. Case Western University
  • 8. University of California, Merced

Description

The peopling of the Andean highlands above 2500 m in elevation was a complex process that included cultural, biological, and genetic adaptations. Here, we present a time series of ancient whole genomes from the Andes of Peru, dating back to 7000 calendar years before the present (BP), and compare them to 42 new genome-wide genetic variation datasets from both highland and lowland populations. We infer three significant features: A split between low- And high-elevation populations that occurred between 9200 and 8200 BP; a population collapse after European contact that is significantly more severe in South American lowlanders than in highland populations; and evidence for positive selection at genetic loci related to starch digestion and plausibly pathogen resistance after European contact. We do not find selective sweep signals related to known components of the human hypoxia response, which may suggest more complex modes of genetic adaptation to high altitude.

Data availability

All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are present in the paper and/or the Supplementary Materials. Additional data related to this paper may be requested from the authors. Ancient and modern DNA sequences are available from NCBI Sequence Read Archive, accession no. PRJNA470966. The Huilliche-Pehuenche SNP data will be available via a data access agreement with R.A.V. at the Universidad de Chile.

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Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1126/sciadv.aau4921
Other
oai:uchicago.tind.io:11063

Funding

National Science Foundation
BCS-1528698
National Science Foundation
BCS-1311626
National Science Foundation
SBR-9816313
National Science Foundation
SBR-9978006
National Institutes of Health
R01HL119577
National Geographic Society
5245-94

UChicago Information

Division(s)
Biological Sciences Division
Department(s)
Human Genetics