Imagine this, you’re investigating an ancient bear bone found in an Alaskan cave only to realize that what you have in your hands will shine more light on human history. That’s the experience a team of researchers from the University of Buffalo recently had.
Charlotte Lindqvist, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Science at the University of Buffalo, and her colleagues were investigating mammal remains in a cave located on Alaska’s southeast coast. During their work, they found what they originally believed to be a bear bone, but subsequent genetic analysis revealed it to belong to a human female who lived in the area around 3,000 years ago. Moreover, this genetic data suggests that descendants of this ancient person are still living almost exactly where their ancestors settled millennia ago.
“We realized that modern Indigenous peoples in Alaska, should they have remained in the region since the earliest migrations, could be related to this prehistoric individual,” Alber Aqil, a University of Buffalo PhD student in biological sciences and the first author of the paper said in a statement.
DNA analysis of remains, such as the bone found in the cave, is particularly useful to help archaeologists investigate questions like this, especially when they are dealing with very few samples.
The first people to migrate to the Americas did so around 24,000 years ago when they traveled across the Bering Land Bridge that once connected the continents of Asia and North America. During their travels, some of these early people journeyed as far south as Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America, but others, like the female from the Alaskan cave, stayed far closer to their point of origin.
The DNA analysis of the bone helped the researchers determine that the female from the cave was closely related to Alaska Natives still living in the area – these include the Tlingit Nation and three other groups – Haida, Tsimshian, and Nisga’a. In particular, the individual – named “Tatóok yík yées sháawat” (Young lady in cave) by the Wrangell Cooperative Association – appears to be closely related to the Tlingit peoples and nearby tribes along the coast. This evidence shows that genetic continuity in Southeast Alaska has lasted for thousands of years and continues even now.
Most interestingly, Tatóok yík yées sháawat’s remains help us understand the first migrations into the continent. When humans first moved into Alaska, they did so in waves – one wave took place about 6,000 years ago and involved the Paleo-Inuit, who were once called Paleo-Eskimos. According to Aqil and Lindqvist’s research, Tatóok yík yées sháawat’s DNA does not show ancestry from the second wave of settlers – the Paleo-Inuit. This, they say, helps us understand the migration routes and interactions between people from the different waves of migrants who settled in the Pacific Northwest in the pre-colonial era, and how they relate to modern territorial patterns.
Throughout this research, Alaska Natives have played a vital collaborative role with the scientists, especially in relation to the exploration of the caves where Tatóok yík yées sháawat was found. Oral origin narratives held by Tlingit people include reference to the most recent eruption of Mount Edgecumbe, which happened around 4,500 years ago. This means they would have been in the area around a similar time, so the research on the young lady in the cave and her relatives has implications that expand beyond anthropology to actually inform modern-day Tlingit people themselves.
“It’s very exciting to contribute to our knowledge of the prehistory of Southeast Alaska,” said Aqil.
The study was published in iScience.
Source Link: Ancient “Bear” Bone Found In Cave Reveals Important Clues About Alaska Natives