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Title: Genetics, Linguistics, and Prehistoric Migrations [DNA Analysis] Collection Type: Directories and Documents Collection Name: Tanis Thorne Native Californian & Nisenan Collection # of Pages: 32 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

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ARTICLE . Genetics, Linguistics, and Prehistoric Migrations: An Analysis of California Indian Mitochondrial ONA Lineages . Johnson / Lorenz 55 features among American Indian languages (Nichols 2002:287—290). Furthermore, Klar (2002) reports evidence of a non-Chumashan substrate in the Cruzefio language. Analysis of ancient mtDNA samples will be necessary to determine whether Haplogroup A and Haplogroup D lineages have equal antiquity in the Santa Barbara region. Haplogroup A lineages characterized our single Esselen sample and three of our Salinan samples, suggesting that these could well have persisted from the same early colonization along the Pacific shoreline that resulted in the establishment of a population along the Santa Barbara Channel (Eshleman et al. 2004; Eshleman and Smith, in press). The linguistic evidence for ancient contact between Esselen and the Chumashan languages (Shaul 1988), and the presence of Haplogroup A lineages from prehistoric burials in the Big Sur region (Eshleman 2002:122), could signify that a Salinan language was not initially spoken in the coastal region. It is possible that the three Haplogroup A lineages among our Salinan samples may have previously existed in the region prior to being absorbed during a Salinan expansion towards the coast under pressure from an incoming migration of Yokutsan groups into the Central Valley region from the Great Basin (see Golla, in press). Similarly, rare instances of Haplogroup A lineages among the Yokuts and Luisefio samples were likely derived from earlier populations that were incorporated into expanding groups who arrived later in these respective regions (see also Eshleman and Smith, in press). The Yokuts Haplogroup A haplotype (A08) is particularly interesting because it is identical to a sequence reported from a prehistoric burial in Esselen territory, thus further suggesting an original coastal connection for this haplotype (Eshleman 2002:122). Haplogroup A lineages also have been identified among prehistoric populations living in marginal areas, such as the San Clemente Islanders and the Perict of the southern tip of Baja California (Endicott et al. 2004; Potter 2004). This pattern is fully consistent with the expectations of an initial coastal migration hypothesis, in which this haplogroup became established early among peoples with a maritime subsistence base and then persisted in certain coastal locations despite later population expansions.° Based on an earlier subset of the data reported more fully here (Tables 2-6), Eshleman et al. (2004) noted a perceived similarity in haplogroup distributions between the Takic and Yuman groups of southern California and certain Great Basin and Plateau groups, and Eshleman and Smith (in press) further note that the Takic distribution is similar to that of more ancient central California populations. The examination of specific haplotypes among these populations, however, shows that there is much greater genetic distance between them than was suggested by overall similarities in their haplogroup distributions. The migration of Uto-Aztecan groups into southern California appears to have resulted in the introduction of new genetic lineages into the area, as well as language replacement. At least one non-Yuman and nonChumashan language once existed in this region, as is demonstrated by a lexical and phonological substratum of undetermined affiliation in Gabrielino (Bright and Bright 1976). Here and there, especially in the desert areas and on San Clemente Island, there exist hints of the surviving mtDNA lineages of the earlier inhabitants of southern California. The distinctive Haplogroup C haplotype discerned among the Vanyumé; the rare presence of Haplogroup D lineages among the Vanyumé, Desert Cahuilla, and Island Gabrielino; and the sole Haplogroup A sample from the most interior of the Luisefio villages, are probable survivals from the pre-Takic period. The fact that these lineages all persisted in relatively marginal areas suggests that the dryer, desert regions served as refugia for peoples who otherwise came to speak the language of a dominant incoming group who co-opted more favorable habitats. Eshleman and Smith (in press) and Golla (in press) have given thorough consideration to the evidence pertaining to the timing and spread of language families included within the Penutian macro-unit (see also Moratto 1984). Our data for Wintuan (3 samples) are still too sparse to come to meaningful conclusions regarding the spread of this language family in Northern California, other than to note that at least one Wintu lineage is shared with the linguistically unrelated Achumawi/Atsugewi. Our sample is likewise too small to test the hypothesis that the Miwok-Costanoan (Utian) family may have had a longer presence in California than the Yokutsan family; however, we did find a genetic pattern that supports the reconstruction of a relatively late expansion of Yokuts peoples in the San Joaquin region with concomitant absorption of older mtDNA lineages and intermarriage