Genetic Diversity and Relationships of Tlingit Moieties

A paleogenome from a Holocene individual supports genetic continuity in Southeast Alaska

“…Based on mutations in the hypervariable control region, a present-day Tlingit individual belonging to the A2 haplogroup, AK157 , was also shown to carry a diagnostic mutation (16355T) that places it in the A2aq haplotype. 30 We note that the Kaigani Haida people moved north to Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska from Haida Gwaii in British Columbia in the early 18th century, 19 , 34 suggesting that either this haplotype is shared between the Haida and Tlingit peoples, or later obtained by the Haida through gene flow with the Tlingit. Moreover, the fact that both ∼2,950 cal BP TYYS and the present-day AK157 individual share a common mitochondrial haplotype, leads us to hypothesize matrilineal genetic continuity in Southeast Alaska for at least ∼3,000 years.…”

“… 27 , 28 , 29 Haplogroup A2 remains the most frequently reported mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineage in northern North America, 24 and it is particularly common along the Pacific Northwest Coast, reaching frequencies >90% among the Haida and Tlingit people. 30 , 31 Of 30 previously reported ancient individuals obtained from the Pacific Northwest Coast, 28 belonged to mtDNA haplogroups (or subhaplogroups) that have also been found among present-day Indigenous peoples in the region. 22 , 24 , 32 , 33 The only exceptions are the ∼10,300 cal BP year-old Shuká K áa , the only ancient human genome from Southeast Alaska published so far, and the ∼6,075 cal BP year-old 939 individual from British Columbia, who both belonged to haplotype D4h3a.…”

“…Moreover, this scenario is also consistent with the Tlingit oral tradition that most Tlingit clans trace their origins to the Tsimshian coast, around the mouth of the Skeena River, from which they migrated northward. 30 , 34 , 43 , 44 , 45 Indeed, the original migration stories of both the Raven and the Eagle clans included this northward movement. 46 An alternative scenario to explain the presence of A2aq in both Tsimshian and Tlingit territories could be a movement of people southward from Tlingit to Tsimshian territory.…”

Virtual cultural landscapes: Geospatial visualizations of past environments

“…People lived on the coastlines of the past, building weirs and clam gardens (low stone walls that held back the tide and allowed for increased collection of clams and other molluscs) (Lepofsky et al, 2020). To generalize some of the anthropological literature, the Tlingit clans organize themselves into moieties or descendant groups of Raven/Crow and Eagle/Wolf, all creatures found in the intertidal zone, which is important for ceremonies and marriage regulations (De los Santos et al, 2019).…”

Power, security, and exchange: Impacts of a Late Holocene volcanic eruption in Subarctic North America

“…Marriage was often exogamous (a preference or proscription to marry outside of one’s own social unit) and was closely regulated such that only certain members of sibs and moieties were permitted to marry others. Genetic and oral histories show that Tlingit moiety distinctions are longstanding (De los Santos et al., 2020). Kinship fueled class differentiation in contested landscapes and this in turn influenced how nobility or wealthy individuals (as opposed to lower classes of free and enslaved people) accrued power and interacted in systems of material exchange with neighbors (Cooper, 2012; de Laguna, 1972; Grinëv, 2018; McClellan, 1975; Simeone, 1995).…”