A group of American scientists discovered traces of the disappeared civilization of the Anasazi Indians by analyzing the genetic material of ancient domesticated birds. The results of a study of the genomes of turkeys showed signs of human migration that happened more than eight centuries ago. According to experts, the Indians moved to the north of New Mexico, giving rise to the Teva people. The article was published in the PLOS One magazine.
The settlements of the Anasazi, or ancient pueblos, were examples of the Native American culture that existed in the southwestern United States in the 9th-12th centuries AD. The Anasazi erected stone buildings of unique architecture, carefully planned streets and quarters, and possessed outstanding mathematical skills. However, by the 13th century, they began to leave their habitable places en masse. The Anasazi civilization disappeared within only a few decades after that.
Scientists have isolated mitochondrial DNA from the bones of domesticated animals by analyzing haplogroups - groups of genes in different individuals inherited from the same ancestor. It turned out that before 1280, turkeys from two areas in New Mexico - Mesa Verde and northern Rio Grande - represented two different genetic lines. However, then the birds in the Rio Grande acquired haplotypes characteristic of Mesa Verde. The results confirm the version according to which the depopulation of the Indians was due to relocation.