Analysis of complex kinship cases for human identification of civil war victims in Guatemala using M-FISys software

García, Marco Antonio Chaves; Martínez, Luis; Stephenson, Mishel; Crews, John E.; Peccerelli, Fredy

doi:10.1016/j.fsigss.2009.08.128

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The data also show important insights into the demography and the ethno-history of the Guatemalans and the important role of Mesoamerica as a passageway between North and South America. Last but not least, the data are also of particular interest from a forensic genetics point of view, as the results of our study may also contribute to the on-going work of the Fundación de Antropología Forense de Guatemala (FAFG) in prosecuting crimes against humanity that took place during the 1960–1996 civil war [ 43 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Genetic data on uniparental markers of Guatemalans are also very limited. Nonetheless, forensic genetics played a key role in the investigation of the Maya homicide during Guatemala’s 30-year-long Civil War by the Fundación de Antropología Forense de Guatemala (FAFG; http://www.fafg.org/ ) [ 43 ]. Almost 20 years ago, DNA extraction from bones and sequencing of the mtDNA HVS-I was carried out after the exhumation of a 10-year-old clandestine mass grave.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genomic insights on the ethno-history of the Maya and the ‘Ladinos’ from Guatemala

et al. 2015

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BackgroundGuatemala is a multiethnic and multilingual country located in Central America. The main population groups separate ‘Ladinos’ (mixed Native American-African-Spanish), and Native indigenous people of Maya descent. Among the present-day Guatemalan Maya, there are more than 20 different ethnic groups separated by different languages and cultures. Genetic variation of these communities still remains largely unexplored. The principal aim of this study is to explore the genetic variability of the Maya and ‘Ladinos’ from Guatemala by means of uniparental and ancestry informative markers (AIMs).ResultsAnalyses of uniparental genetic markers indicate that Maya have a dominant Native American ancestry (mitochondrial DNA [mtDNA]: 100%; Y-chromosome: 94%). ‘Ladino’, however, show a clear gender-bias as indicated by the large European ancestry observed in the Y-chromosome (75%) compared to the mtDNA (0%). Autosomal polymorphisms (AIMs) also mirror this marked gender-bias: (i) Native American ancestry: 92% for the Maya vs. 55% for the ‘Ladino’, and (ii) European ancestry: 8% for the Maya vs. 41% for the ‘Ladino’. In addition, the impact of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade on the present-day Guatemalan population is very low (and only occurs in the ‘Ladino’; mtDNA: 9%; AIMs: 4%), in part mirroring the fact that Guatemala has a predominant orientation to the Pacific Ocean instead of a Caribbean one. Sequencing of entire Guatemalan mitogenomes has led to improved Native American phylogeny via the addition of new haplogroups that are mainly observed in Mesoamerica and/or the North of South America.ConclusionsThe data reveal the existence of a fluid gene flow in the Mesoamerican area and a predominant unidirectional flow towards South America, most likely occurring during the Pre-Classic (1800 BC-200 AD) and the Classic (200–1000 AD) Eras of the Mesoamerican chronology, coinciding with development of the most distinctive and advanced Mesoamerican civilization, the Maya. Phylogenetic features of mtDNA data also suggest a demographic scenario that is compatible with moderate local endogamy and isolation in the Maya combined with episodes of gene exchange between ethnic groups, suggesting an ethno-genesis in the Guatemalan Maya that is recent and supported on a cultural rather than a biological basis.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1339-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic insights on the ethno-history of the Maya and the ‘Ladinos’ from Guatemala

et al. 2015

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“…The group, however, remained committed to eventually creating its own reference database, one they thought might be more representative by databasing the collected samples from the Mayan population they served. They later published the results of the databanking as part of a methodological paper on using analysis of kinship relationships for large-scale human identification in the context of mass genocide (García et al 2009). Most recently, the database was used to collaborate with a Mexican geneticist to use forensic genetic markers (STRs) to make claims about the genetic differentiation of Mayan populations (Aguilar-Velázquez et al 2021).…”

Section: "Indian-indian Giving": Genetics And/as Global Indigenous Organizingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic syncretism: Latin American forensics and global indigenous organizing

Smith

García‐Deister

2021

BioSocieties

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In the 1970s, Latin America became a global laboratory for military interventions, the cultivation of terror, and ideological and economic transformation. In response, family groups and young scientists forged a new activist forensics focused on human rights, victim-centered justice, and state accountability, inaugurating new forms of forensic practice. We examine how this new form of forensic practice centered in forensic genetics has led to a critical engagement with Indigeneity both within and outside the lab. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with human rights activists and forensic scientists in Argentina, Guatemala and Mexico, this paper examines the relationship between forensic genetics, Indigenous organizing, and human rights practice. We offer the concept of ‘genetic syncretism’ to attend to spaces where multiple and competing beliefs about genetics, justice, and Indigenous identity are worked out through (1) coming together in care, (2) incorporation, and (3) ritual. Helping to unpack the uneasy and incomplete alliance of Indigenous interests and forensic genetic practice in Latin American, genetic syncretism offers a theoretical lens that is attentive to how differentials of power embedded in colonial logics and scientific practice are brokered through the coming together of seemingly incompatible beliefs and practices.

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“…Since then in Guatemala, a Short Tandem Repeat (STR) population allele frequency database was created from 451 Guatemalans. 40 In the Balkans, where it was estimated that 40,000 people went missing, the first DNA-led strategy for identification was proposed and implemented by the International Commission for Missing Persons (ICMP) Forensic Science Department. 41 However, in all of these contexts, traditional techniques are still necessary to corroborate the identification.…”

Section: Dna Profilingmentioning

confidence: 99%