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Thx for having me @kstsosie @DecolonizeDNA! Today I will tweet about how ancient DNA (aDNA) 
can be used to revisit the historical record, & reconsider the stories of underrep & minoritized communities across the Americas 
1/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay (Img: Systema Solar)
can be used to revisit the historical record, & reconsider the stories of underrep & minoritized communities across the Americas 1/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay (Img: Systema Solar)
aDNA is thethat persists in ancient tissues like 
, or the remains of 
. It can inform us about evolution, ancient diversity & health. But bc of its age, aDNA is degraded and easily contaminated so we must handle it using lots of PPE, like this! 2/ #DecolonizeDNA
that persists in ancient tissues like , or the remains of . It can inform us about evolution, ancient diversity & health. But bc of its age, aDNA is degraded and easily contaminated so we must handle it using lots of PPE, like this! 2/ #DecolonizeDNA
aDNA+ other lines of evidence
can reconstruct past events & their impact in the present. This is a powerful 
way to understand the experiences of ppls who were marginalized, excluded or misrepresented in the written historical record 
3/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay
+ other lines of evidencecan reconstruct past events & their impact in the present. This is a powerful way to understand the experiences of ppls who were marginalized, excluded or misrepresented in the written historical record 3/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay
For ex: I study ancient Indigenous communities who lived in #PuertoRico
& the Caribbean for >5K yrs 
Thru #archaeology we know these were diverse & complex ppl w/dynamic interaction networks extending far beyond the Antilles 4/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay (Img: Hofman et al. 2018)
& the Caribbean for >5K yrs Thru #archaeology we know these were diverse & complex ppl w/dynamic interaction networks extending far beyond the Antilles 4/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay (Img: Hofman et al. 2018)
But Indigenous Caribbean ppls were also the 1st #NativeAmericans to experience European colonialism. BC of this our understanding of their story is fragmented & biased towards the colonizer's perspective as described in historical
(like this painting) 
5/ #DecolonizeDNA
(like this painting) 5/ #DecolonizeDNA
In & other Antilles, colonial documents say that native ppls died out by the 1600s. This led to common narratives of Indigenous extinction, despite the presence of islanders w/Indigenous cultural identities & oral histories 
of Indigenous descent 
6/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay
& other Antilles, colonial documents say that native ppls died out by the 1600s. This led to common narratives of Indigenous extinction, despite the presence of islanders w/Indigenous cultural identities & oral histories of Indigenous descent 6/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay
These contrasting narratives, extinction vs survival, are fiercely debated 
in , esp since studies found present-day #boricuas #puertorican carry large proportions of Native American maternal ancestry in our mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) 
7/ #DecolonizeDNA
in , esp since studies found present-day #boricuas #puertorican carry large proportions of Native American maternal ancestry in our mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) 7/ #DecolonizeDNA
Did some of this mtDNA ancestry come from native island ppls who survived colonization? To find out my colleagues and I used aDNA to investigate the origins, diversity and genetic legacies of Puerto Rico's ancient communities 8/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay https://bit.ly/2yBoQkO
to investigate the origins, diversity and genetic legacies of Puerto Rico's ancient communities 8/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay https://bit.ly/2yBoQkO
We sampled of 124 ppl who lived at 3 pre-contact sites in incl. Tibes 
. This was difficult bc aDNA does not preserve well in the tropics 
=
. But we recovered 45 mtDNA genomes and compared them to those of modern islanders 9/ #DecolonizeDNA (Img: Enciclopedia PR)
of 124 ppl who lived at 3 pre-contact sites in incl. Tibes . This was difficult bc aDNA does not preserve well in the tropics =. But we recovered 45 mtDNA genomes and compared them to those of modern islanders 9/ #DecolonizeDNA (Img: Enciclopedia PR)
We saw that some ancient mtDNA lineages were lost over time, while #puertoricans also carry novel lineages. These differences reflect the impact of random #geneticdrift, as well as post-European contact #migration & #admixture 10/ #DecolonizeDNA (Img: https://bit.ly/2S5Lnx7 )
But despite the large-scale population shifts brought by colonization, we found that three
pre-contact mtDNA lineages survived into the present-day within the genomes of present-day Puerto Ricans 
11/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay
pre-contact mtDNA lineages survived into the present-day within the genomes of present-day Puerto Ricans 11/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay
Why does this matter? Well, in PR Indigenous ancestry is central to ethnic & national identity. Pre-contact art forms are symbols of #boricua culture & political empowerment (especially bc of our continued quasi-colonial status-
, topic for another thread
) 12/ #DecolonizeDNA
-, topic for another thread) 12/ #DecolonizeDNA
Yet this native pride coexists w/firmly grounded extinction narratives & the erasure of our Indigenous (& African) ancestors. Even my 10th grade history class textbook described 500 not 5,000 years of history! 
13/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay (Img: http://Amazon.com )
13/ #DecolonizeDNA #DNADay (Img: http://Amazon.com )
Indigenous activist & resurgent movements in the Caribbean & US diaspora have opposed the extinction narratives for yrs. But now & data are also influencing public discourse on Indigenous heritage, survival & identity 14/ #DecolonizeDNA (Img: https://americanindian.si.edu/ )
& data are also influencing public discourse on Indigenous heritage, survival & identity 14/ #DecolonizeDNA (Img: https://americanindian.si.edu/ )
aDNA studies have identifiedlinks btw present-day islanders & ancient Indigenous ppl. These findings challenge the prevailing colonial narratives describing the complete extinction of & Caribbean native communities 15/ #DecolonizeDNA https://bit.ly/3cNx8oB
links btw present-day islanders & ancient Indigenous ppl. These findings challenge the prevailing colonial narratives describing the complete extinction of & Caribbean native communities 15/ #DecolonizeDNA https://bit.ly/3cNx8oB
Personally, I hope our work leads to a critical reassessment of contact period dynamics, further study of Indigenous Caribbean responses to colonization & a better understanding of native ppls role in shaping the current biocultural diversity of the Antilles 16/ #DecolonizeDNA
