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Genetics, Linguistics, and Prehistoric Migrations [DNA Analysis] (32 pages)
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Page: of 32
ARTICLE . Genetics, Linguistics, and Prehistoric Migrations: An Analysis of California Indian Mitochondrial DNA Lineages . Johnson / Lorenz 35
as well as those of some other Central California groups,
show evidence of prehistoric lexical borrowings from
“Old California” Uto-Aztecan languages prior to the
differentiation and expansion of the Numic subfamily
(Klar 1980; Nichols 1988; Turner 1987). The later movement
into Southern California of Uto-Aztecan peoples has been
proposed to have occurred about two millennia ago, and to
have originated from a region in the vicinity of the southern
San Joaquin Valley (Golla, in press; Moratto 1984),
Within the hypothesized Yok-Utian branch of the
Penutian macro-unit, Golla has proposed two migrations:
one that introduced Proto-Utian into the SacramentoSan Joaquin Delta region some four millennia ago, and
a second migration within the Late Period that brought
Yokutsan into the Central Valley. He proposes that
the ancestral homeland of both these families and of
the Penutian superfamily generally was likely to have
been in the Plateau region and in portions of the Great
Basin. This idea was tested in part by Kaestle and Smith
(2001) in their research contrasting ancient Great Basin
population samples with samples obtained from modern
Numic peoples, using a subset of the data collected
for this study for their characterization of Californian
groups. Yokutsan languages show substratal influences
from Salinan (Golla, in press), suggesting that some
mitochondrial lineages from an absorbed earlier group
may be present in Yokuts populations.
A number of predictions may be derived from this
discussion pertaining to language changes in aboriginal
California:
1. Chumashan populations will be genetically
distinctive compared to neighboring groups,
because of the likelihood of their ancient
presence in the Santa Barbara region and
their matrilocal residence pattern, which
would tend to preserve mitochondrial DNA
lineages within the region.
2. Presuming that the distribution of languages
within the Hokan and Penutian superfamilies
represent ancient population spreads
in California, the descendant populations
speaking different languages found within
each of these superfamilies will harbor
ancestral mtDNA lineages, even though they
are widely separated geographically.'
3. Yokutsan and Uto-Aztecan groups, being
more “recent” arrivals into California, will
share mtDNA lineages with other regions
of origin as well as less common mtDNA
lineages from groups absorbed during the
process of expansion.
4. Intermarriage between adjacent groups
from different language families, especially
those practicing patrilocal post-marital
residence, will result in a certain amount of
sharing of mtDNA lineages. Such adjacent
groups that exhibit the highest degree of
linguistic influences, through features such
as phonological convergence or lexical
borrowings, will tend to be indistinguishable
from a standpoint of mitochondrial DNA
lineages, reflecting intermarriage.
SAMPLE DESCRIPTIONS
The research design for this study is unique among
Native American mtDNA studies conducted to date
in that extensive genealogical documentation has been
undertaken using ethnohistorical records, This approach
was necessary because the relocation of many California
groups to the missions during the Spanish colonial period
and the subsequent demographic decline caused by the
introduced European diseases led to intermarriage and
coalescence of what had been independent tribal entities.
Present-day descendants of California Indians may
identify themselves with a particular tribal designation;
however, genealogical research may reveal that the
matriline of these individuals descends originally from a
woman from a different native group who had married a
man from the person’s current tribe. If the anthropologist
did not undertake genealogical research, many of the
mtDNA samples would be misassigned to incorrect
ethnolinguistic units, thus obscuring original patterns
of genetic differences and similarities that had once
existed among California’s native groups. By using
mission registers, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) records,
ethnographers’ notes, censuses, and other sources,
a relatively high degree of precision is obtained in
determining the origin of most of the lineages sampled.
It should be emphasized, however, that in the end our