Project description
Reconstructing American Indigenous genomic history using quid DNA
Palaeogenomics provides insight into biological and sociocultural human history using ancient human genomes. However, destructive sampling of skeletal remains conflicts with national heritage conservation policies and descendant community values. The EU-funded QUIDS project will use non-destructive ancient quids, containing DNA from the chewer, oral microbiome, and meals, to reconstruct Indigenous peoples’ genomic history in the Americas. Quid DNA analysis will reveal dietary and microbiome shifts, pathogen prevalence, and their interplay without harming skeletal remains, which are scarce in the Americas. QUIDS will offer an innovative solution to reconstruct the history of Indigenous peoples in the Americas while respecting their cultural heritage and values.
Objective
Palaeogenomics has revolutionised our understanding of human population history at the biological and sociocultural level by analysing thousands of ancient human genomes sequenced from skeletal remains. Unfortunately, this approach requires destructive sampling of the skeletal remains, and thus can often be in conflict with the values of descendant communities and national heritage conservation policies. Although alternative sources of ancient human DNA have been sought, their utilisation requires prohibitive sequencing data volumes, or they are rare in the archaeological record, thus precluding large-scale studies. To circumvent these limitations, we will use a novel DNA source: ancient quids. Quids are wads of masticated plant fibres recovered from archaeological sites. Analogous to a buccal swab, an ancient quid contains traces of the chewer's, their oral microbiome's and the chewer's meals' DNA, as well as that of the plants used for its elaboration. Therefore, quid DNA can be used to simultaneously track human population history, dietary and microbiome shifts, pathogen prevalence and their interplay through time.
We will use quid DNA to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the Indigenous peoples from the Americas, a continent where human evolutionary history is understudied, skeletal remains are rare, and the destructive sampling of such remains is often limited. In contrast to skeletal remains, quids are abundant in the American archaeological record and span from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene and recent centuries. Through ancient quid DNA, we will reconstruct the genomic history of Indigenous Americans, their past lifeways and subsistence strategies, their health, and how these influenced each other throughout the three major historical transitions in the continent: the initial rapid peopling by hunter-gatherers, the emergence of complex agricultural societies and their demise during European colonisation.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2022-STG
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1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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