Indigenous Picuris – Genetics of Indigenen confirms surviving myths

1000 years ago, the settlements of the Chaco Canyon, especially Pueblo Bonito, formed the center of pulsating life where the southwest of the USA is now. Located on a spacious plateau, where the summer temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius then and the winter is bitterly cold, the center of Chaco culture was, the cultural influence of which extended far beyond its settlement area. It is estimated that around 2000 people lived here in the heyday of culture. But tens of thousands of others jeopardized their architectural style, ceramics and possibly religion until an approximately 30 years of drought forced the residents around 1150 to leave their homeland.

But where did the residents of the Chaco Canyon go, as erosion, heat and the loss of the surrounding mountain forests, took the livelihood to them? The current residents of the 21 settlements in Colorado and New Mexico have never been in doubt that their ancestors made the chaco culture bloom. Her myths report on this, but they are written in a poetic language and cannot be translated into exact historiography. In addition to the tradition of historical events, these myths also have other functions, such as explaining the origins of the world and the mythical connection of the individual peoples on certain geographical points, animals and plants. In all efforts to preserve the narratives of the ancestors, the modern indigenous people of America are aware that they contain gaps and contradictory information.

Tens of thousands of jealoused architectural style and ceramic of the chaco culture.

One of these peoples are the Picuris, which currently count around 300 relatives. It is estimated that about 3000 Picuris lived when the Spaniards came to their country in 1540 and renamed it in new Mexico. The rule of the Spaniards was brutal, punishments for resistance or adhering to the religion of the ancestors were hard. Shamans have been persecuted and European diseases docked the ranks of the Picuris and other Pueblo peoples. In 1680 they rose against the Spaniards and drove them out. It took 20 years for the colonial regime to be restored. After that, Christianization was pushed forward and the old religion was suppressed. After conquering the southwest of the United States, the children were forced in boarding schools where they should learn English and become US citizens.

However, the adherence to culture and a certain influence on the preservation and use of the numerous ruins of the chaco culture were important concerns of the Picuris. To prove that you are legitimate descendants of the chaco culture, contact the Copenhagen Institute for Geogenetics under the direction of Eske Willerslev. The geneticist has already done valuable work for other indigenous North American and Australian peoples and had an advance of trust. The Picuris allowed the removal of tissue samples from the bodies of long-deceased ancestors to gain DNA samples from them. These were compared to the DNA of several skeletons that had been buried in the so -called room 33 of the Chaco Bonito. The analysis showed that the Picuris can certainly derive their roots from the Chaco culture. The study also confirmed the tribal myth that the Picuris consist of the North and South people. The South people are identical to the ancestors from the chaco culture, while the Nordölk can be associated with the Athopascian peoples who immigrated around 1450, including modern apaches.

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The study underlines that the positive finding of origin does not exclude that other Pueblo peoples can also derive their descent from the chaco culture. The Picuris have received certainty that the old traditions tell the truth and their deep historical roots give them the right to work on the preservation of the chaco culture.

The collaboration between Picuris and geneticists was also named in the author collective of the Study Taken into account – unfortunately still unusual step.