I22220 - A man buried in Mexico in the Medio Period era
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A man buried in Mexico during the Casas Grandes (Medio Period)
A fragment of the ancient world, preserved across millennia in strands of DNA.
The biological and cultural markers that define this ancient individual
I22220
1301 CE - 1397 CE
Casas Grandes (Medio Period)
Male
C1b
Q-BZ1021
Farmer (AI estimate, era-typical)
Where this individual was discovered
When this individual lived in the broader context of human history
The narrative of this ancient life
Northern Mexico includes semi-arid basins, desert edges, and uplands where agriculture depended on seasonal rainfall and localized water management. Resource availability encouraged settlement near arable soils and dependable water sources, while hunting and gathering remained important supplements.
From about 1200–1450 CE, the Casas Grandes (Medio Period) is discussed in archaeological terms through changing styles of ceramics, architecture, and site organization. This phase followed earlier Mogollon-linked developments and contributed to the formation of more recognizable regional interaction networks in parts of northwest Mexico.
Communities supported themselves through mixed economies. Farming—where feasible—provided staples, while wild foods and game broadened diets and helped stabilize living patterns during fluctuating conditions. Settlement systems could include both smaller habitations and larger organized centers, with households producing much of what they needed and specialists possibly contributing certain craft goods.
Archaeological identification relies on ceramics and other durable remains, including storage and cooking vessels, stone tools, and architectural features. Changes during the Medio Period are often visible in pottery styles and construction practices, indicating how traditions were maintained and modified over time. Evidence for craft production and exchange is inferred conservatively from artifact styles and similarities across sites.
Social organization is approached through how sites are planned and how material styles cluster. Distinctive ceramic and architectural conventions suggest shared cultural frameworks, while differences between sites can reflect varying access to resources, local autonomy, and participation in regional exchange.
The Casas Grandes trajectory continued beyond 1450 CE, with subsequent phases showing further shifts in settlement patterns and material culture. The Medio Period thus represents a key middle interval in the long development of regional networks and community identities in northern Mexico.
These comparisons show genetic similarity, not identity or origin. The populations listed are those whose genomes show statistical alignment to this ancient individual.
Similarity reflects shared history, not shared identity. These are analytical comparisons, not claims about who this person was.
This analysis compares the DNA profile with present-day reference populations, showing statistical similarity to modern reference populations from different regions. The excavation site records where this individual was found, not a fixed modern genetic identity.
This individual exists within a broader network of ancient samples. No ancient genome stands alone.
Scientific publications and genetic data that inform this profile.
This study reports results from the ancient DNA analysis of a unique child burial at Paquimé, northern Chihuahua, Mexico. Located between Mesoamerican and Ancestral Puebloan groups, Paquimé (also known as Casas Grandes) was a vibrant multicultural centre during the 13th-14th centuries AD. Archaeologists have long debated Paquimé's social organization. Our analysis of Burial 23-8 has revealed that this child, placed under the centre post of an important room, had parents who were close genetic relatives. We argue that this child's consanguinity and special depositional context resulted from an elite family's practice of aggrandizing social status.
These coordinates represent a position in genetic space, a tool for comparison, not a conclusion. You can use these to perform custom admixture analysis in G25 Studio.
I22220,0.05194352,-0.3104131,0.10868058,0.08943142,-0.10666918,-0.016514,-0.2604,-0.31257886,-0.01136602,-0.01654712,-0.00080964,0.0006092,-0.0006603,0.02108808,-0.00867404,0.0043952,0.00511634,0.00543038,0.00466158,-0.00167146,-0.0019608,0.00374864,-0.00482042,0.0013468,0.00112261