Linajes mitocondriales en muestras de esquina de Huajra (Jujuy, Argentina). Aportes al estudio de la ocupación incaica en la región y la procedencia de sus habitantes

Abstract

The archaeological site Esquina de Huajra (south-central area of the Quebrada de Humahuaca) is a location chronologically assigned to the Inca phase (ca. 500-420 AP) and to the Hispanic-indigenous phase or initial period of contact with the Spanish (ca. 420-320 AP). In the context of the Incaic economic system, Esquina de Huajra may have been a key settlement in the exploitation and distribution of goods from the eastern forests (Yungas). In addition, its material culture suggests major interaction networks with the highlands, raising questions about its inhabitants’ origin. In this work maternal lineages of individuals from Esquina de Huajra were analyzed in comparison to other sites in southcentral Andes to assess possible foreign origins, considering that population resettlement under Inca dominion was a common practice. DNA was extracted from the teeth of six individuals and mitochondrial hypervariable region I (HVRI) was successfully sequenced in four samples, resulting in two of them assigned to lineage A2 and the other two to C1. Absence of B2 disagrees with data from most Andean sites, where this lineage is the most frequent. Two of the four haplotypes are only shared with individuals from other sites located in Quebrada de Humahuaca (Los Amarillos and San Jose), and a nodal C1 variant was reported in samples from Juella and several pre-Inca and Inca Peruvian sites. These results represent the first contribution to genetic studies on the population of Esquina de Huajra and are also further evidence of the complex population processes in the Andean region.