A 2025 DNA study linked living members of Picuris Pueblo to Ancestral Puebloans buried at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon. At Aztec Ruins, people left around 1300 for Rio Grande and Zuni-Hopi communities — and Maya city-building continued for about two centuries after the Classic collapse 🏜️
2025 DNA study links Picuris Pueblo people to Ancestral Puebloans at Pueblo Bonito
Key facts
- A 2025 DNA study found a genetic link between living members of Picuris Pueblo and Ancestral Puebloans buried at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon.
- At the Aztec Ruins in New Mexico, people left around 1300 and moved to communities along the Rio Grande and in the Zuni-Hopi area.
- After the Hittite Empire collapsed, dynasties established under it continued at places such as Karkemish, maintaining Hittite traditions for centuries; these are called Neo-Hittites.
- DNA studies show modern Egyptians retain ancestry from ancient Egyptian populations alongside later migration and intermarriage, and Coptic, the latest phase of the ancient Egyptian language, remained in use for centuries after the 7th-century Arab conquest.
- The collapse of prominent Classic period Maya urban centers was real, but an archaeological synthesis shows a process extending over roughly two centuries during which Maya peoples continued to build cities at other locations.
Sources
doi.org
Linked in video description
How DNA and Oral Tradition Aligned to Tell the Picuris Pueblo's Deep Pastanthropology.net
The study analyzed DNA from 16 ancient individuals buried at Picuris Pueblo (dating from 1300 to 1500 CE) and compared it to that of 13 current ...
Picuris Pueblo oral history and genomics reveal continuity in US ...nature.com
by T Pinotti · 2025 · Cited by 8 — We show genetic continuity between ancient and present-day Picuris, and more broadly with Ancestral Puebloans from Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon ...
Ancient DNA confirms Picuris Pueblo's ancestral link to Chaco ...archaeologymag.com
Picuris Pueblo leads a groundbreaking genetic study confirming their ancestral link to Chaco Canyon, a monumental site central to Pueblo ...
Federal tribe uses ancient DNA to establish genetic link to ancestral ...smu.edu
Ancient DNA has established a genetic link to Pueblo Bonito for the Picuris Pueblo tribe. Research Earth, Life & Climate. April 30, 2025.
DNA traces Picuris Pueblo Tribe's ancient ancestral ties to Chaco ...science.org
DNA traces Picuris Pueblo Tribe's ancient ancestral ties to Chaco Canyon. Pueblo Bonito, pictured here, is one site within Chaco Canyon,
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