Indigenous Picuris | Indigenous genetics confirms traditional myths

1,000 years ago, the settlements of Chaco Canyon, led by Pueblo Bonito, formed the center of vibrant life in what is now the southwestern United States. Situated on a vast plateau where summer temperatures then, as now, could reach 40 degrees Celsius and winters were bitterly cold, lay the center of the Chaco culture , whose cultural influence extended far beyond its settlement area. It is estimated that around 2,000 people lived here during the culture's heyday. But tens of thousands of others emulated their architectural style, ceramics, and possibly religion until a drought lasting about 30 years forced the inhabitants to leave their homeland around 1150.

But where did the inhabitants of Chaco Canyon turn when erosion, heat, and the loss of the surrounding mountain forests deprived them of their livelihood? The current inhabitants of the 21 settlements in Colorado and New Mexico have never doubted that their ancestors allowed the Chaco culture to flourish. Their myths tell of this, but they are written in poetic language and cannot be translated into exact historiography. In addition to transmitting historical events, these myths also serve other functions, such as explaining the origins of the world and portraying the mythical connection of individual peoples to specific geographical points, animals, and plants. Despite all efforts to preserve the stories of their ancestors, modern Native Americans are aware that these stories contain gaps and contradictory information.

Tens of thousands emulated the architectural style and ceramics of the Chaco culture.

One of these peoples is the Picuris, who currently number about 300 members. It is estimated that about 3,000 Picuris lived when the Spanish entered their land in 1540 and renamed it New Mexico. Spanish rule was brutal, with harsh punishments for resistance or adherence to ancestral religion. Shamans were persecuted, and European diseases thinned the ranks of the Picuris and the other Pueblo peoples. In 1680, they rebelled against the Spanish and expelled them. It took 20 years until the colonial regime was restored. Afterward, Christianization was promoted and the old religion suppressed. After the US conquest of the Southwest, the children were forced into boarding schools, where they were expected to learn English and become US citizens.

However, maintaining their culture and exerting some influence on the preservation and use of the numerous ruins of the Chaco culture were important concerns for the Picuris. To prove that they were legitimate descendants of the Chaco culture, they contacted the Copenhagen Institute for Geogenetics, headed by Eske Willerslev. The geneticist had already done valuable work for other indigenous North American and Australian peoples and had a vote of confidence. The Picuris allowed tissue samples to be taken from the bodies of long-dead ancestors in order to obtain DNA samples. These samples were compared with the DNA of several skeletons buried in what is known as Room 33 of the Chaco Bonito. The analysis showed that the Picuris could definitely trace their roots back to the bearers of the Chaco culture. The study also confirmed the tribal myth that the Picuris consisted of the Northern and Southern peoples. The southern people are identical with the ancestors of the Chaco culture, while the northern people can be associated with the Athabaskan peoples who immigrated around 1450, including the modern Apaches .

The study emphasizes that the positive origin finding does not rule out the possibility that other Pueblo peoples can also trace their ancestry back to the Chaco culture. The Picuris have gained the certainty that the ancient traditions tell the truth and that their deep historical roots give them the right to participate in the preservation of the Chaco culture.

The collaboration between Picuris and geneticists was also acknowledged by including names in the study 's authorship – a step that is unfortunately still unusual.