Pukara of the Precordillera

The Late Intermediate Period (LIP) in northern Chile was a time of regional reorganisation after the decline of earlier highland polities. Archaeological data indicates small fortified hilltop sites—often called pukarás—occupied precordillera slopes overlooking the Atacama Desert. Material traces from these sites include undecorated and painted ceramic types, lithic toolkits adapted for pastoralism, and ephemeral agricultural terraces where moisture capture permitted limited cultivation.

The individual represented by the sample dated 1301–1396 CE comes from that pukara landscape. Limited evidence suggests this person lived within a network of highland-lowland exchange: camelid caravans, salt and mineral trade, and seasonal transhumance likely connected irrigated valleys to the arid plains below. While regional ceramic and architectural traits point to local cultural continuities, population movements across Andean ecotones were common in the LIP, complicating neat cultural labels.

Because only a single genetic sample is currently available, interpretations of population history remain preliminary. Archaeological context anchors the individual firmly in a Pukara-associated setting, but broader demographic patterns require more samples to confirm continuity, admixture, or mobility trends across the precordillera.

Ancient DNA from the Pukara precordillera individual provides a rare molecular glimpse into LIP populations of northern Chile. The single male-associated sample carries Y-chromosome haplogroup Q and mitochondrial haplogroup C1b—both lineages widespread among Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Haplogroup Q on the paternal line is consistent with deep Native American ancestry linked to early peopling events, while mtDNA C1b aligns with maternal lineages common in South America.

These assignments resonate with archaeological expectations: continuity of Indigenous Andean genetic ancestry across the highlands and desert margins. However, with only one genome available (sample count = 1), any inference about population structure, sex-biased migration, or admixture during the Late Intermediate Period must be treated as provisional. Low sample size prevents robust statements about haplogroup frequencies, local diversity, or the extent of gene flow between highland and coastal groups.

Future sampling across multiple pukará and valley cemeteries could test whether Q and C1b were dominant locally, reveal microregional differences, and clarify demographic processes such as mobility, marriage networks, and elite lineage transmission. For now, genetics corroborate Indigenous Andean roots but stop short of defining population dynamics in the precordillera definitively.