Civilizations Lost and Found: Fabricating History Part Three: Real Messages in DNA

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The Lost Civilizations of North America documentary suggests that there is genetic evidence for a pre-Columbian migration of Israelites to the Americas. However, DNA studies provide no support for this hypothesis.

DEBORAH A. BOLNICK, KENNETH L. FEDER, BRADLEY T. LEPPER, and TERRY A. BARNHART

“DNA science apparently settles the biological question of who these ancient, advanced Hopewell mound builders were. But where else is this DNA found? And where did it originate?”—The Lost Civilizations of North America

n Part One of our series on diffusionist perspectives es- tion that originated in Asia and mi- poused in the Lost Civilizations of North America docu- grated to the Americas via Beringia (Figure 2) approximately fourteen thou- Imentary (SI, September/October 2011), we discussed al- sand to twenty thousand years ago (Kemp legations made in the documentary that the true history of and Schurr 2010). This consensus reflects ancient North America has been hidden, perhaps inten- not only the observed patterns of mtDNA variation but also studies of pa- tionally, by mainstream scientists and historians (Feder et ternally inherited Y-chromo some mark- al. 2011). In Part Two (November/December 2011), we ad- ers and biparentally inherited autosomal dressed claims made by diffusionists in general and in the markers. While the Lost Civilizations video documentary in particular concerning To date, DNA has been extracted from does mention this “mainstream” per- the discovery of artifacts with written the remains of seventy-three individu- spective, it emphasizes a different inter- inscriptions presented in support of als buried at two sites exhibiting pretation of the Hopewell genetic data. that alternative history (Lepper et al. Hopewell archaeological features (the Specifically, the video suggests that the 2011). Here, in Part 3, we will address Pete Klunk mound group in Illinois presence of a mtDNA lineage known the interpretation proffered by some of and the Hopewell mound group in as “haplogroup X” in the Hopewell those interviewed in the documentary Ohio). Maternally inherited mitochon- population is evidence of a pre- that DNA studies prove a direct bio- drial DNA (mtDNA) was analyzed, Columbian migration of Israelites to logical and historical connection be- and it shows that the genetic makeup the Americas because haplogroup X tween the mound builders of the of these populations was broadly simi- originated in the “hills of Galilee” in Is- American Mid west and the ancient in- lar to other ancient and contemporary rael and began to disperse out of the habitants of the Middle East. Native American populations from Middle East approximately two thou- Lost Civilizations: Genetic Evidence eastern North America (Mills 2003; sand years ago. This argument is seri- Bolnick and Smith 2007) (Figure 1). ously flawed for four reasons. DNA studies have helped to address im- When the Hopewell population (as First, while several genetic studies portant questions about the biological well as other Native Americans) is indicate that haplogroup X may have makeup of Hopewell mound builder compared with Old World populations, first evolved in the Near East (Brown populations and where their ancestors they are most genetically similar to et al. 1998; Reidla et al. 2003; Shlush et came from, but the genetic data do not populations in Asia. The scientific con- al. 2008), these studies do not suggest provide any evidence for a direct link be- sensus, based on more than 150 studies that it originated specifically in Israelite tween the Hopewell and Israelite popu- of Native American genetic variation, or other Hebrew-speaking populations. lations of the Middle East, as some in- suggests that all Native Americans are Haplogroup X is found throughout the terviewees in Lost Civilizations claim. de scended from a single source popula- Near East, western Eurasia, and north-

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ern Africa, and it is not unique to 100% (nor especially common in) Is- raelite or Jewish populations (Rei- 90% Other dla et al. 2003; Behar et al. 2004). 80% Shlush et al. (2008) did find a X2* /X2b higher frequency of haplogroup X 70% in the Galilee Druze, a (non-Jew- /X2e /X2f ish) population isolate that prac- 60% tices a distinctive monotheistic re- X2a ligion, but the authors themselves 50% D point out that their nonrandom 40% sampling strategy does not provide C an accurate estimate of population 30% B haplogroup frequencies. Further- A more, Shlush et al. (2008) argue 20% that the Galilee Druze represent a contemporary “refugium” for hap- 10% logroup X, not that haplogroup X 0% must have originated in the hills of Hopewell Pete Klunk Other Ancient Contemporary Galilee Druze Galilee (as diffusionist Donald Mound Group Mound Group Eastern North Eastern North (N=183) (N=34) (N=39) Americans Americans Yates claims in the video). (N=218) (N=1174) Second, and more important, Figure 1. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup frequencies for Native American populations from eastern North Amer- the forms of haplogroup X found ica and the Galilee Druze. Note the level of consistency in the distribution of mitochondrial haplogroups among Native in the Galilee Druze (and else- Americans. The distribution of haplogroups in a Galilee Druze population is quite different. where in the Near East) are not closely related to the particular form of haplogroup X found in Native Americans. All members of haplogroup X share some mutations, reflecting descent from a common maternal ancestor, but other mutations divide haplogroup X mtDNAs into various subdivi- sions (subhaplogroups) that diverged after the time of the shared maternal ancestor (Reidla et al. 2003). The Hopewell and other Native American populations ex- hibit sub-haplogroup X2a, which is different from the subhaplogroups present in the Galilee Druze (subhaplogroups X2*, X2b, X2e, X2f) or other Middle Eastern populations (Reidla et al. 2003; Shlush et al. 2008; Kemp and Schurr 2010). Be- cause subhaplogroup X2a is not found in the Middle East and is not particularly closely related to the forms of haplogroup X that are Figure 2. This map shows the configuration of the modern coastlines of northeast Asia and northwest North America, found in that region, the hap- along with the maximum Late Pleistocene extent of the Bering Land Bridge. Its existence, between thirty-five thousand logroup X data do not provide any and eleven thousand years ago, provided a broad avenue across which human beings first entered the New World from evidence for a close biological rela- the Old.

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tionship between Hopewell and Mid- dle Eastern populations or any support for a direct migration from the Middle East to the Americas in pre-Columbian times. Third, it is misleading and inappropriate to focus exclusively on haplogroup X and to ignore all other mtDNA lineages when considering the genetic origins of the Hopewell mound builders—especially since haplogroup X was found in only one of the seventy- three Hopewell individuals studied. As noted earlier, when all mtDNA haplogroups present in the Hopewell population (as well as other Native Amer- icans) are considered, the genetic evidence clearly indicates an Asian origin. Furthermore, if there had been a pre-Columbian migration of Israelites to eastern North America, we would almost certainly see other common Mid- dle Eastern lineages in the Hope well and other Native American populations. We don’t. None of the thirteen other mtDNA haplogroups found in the Galilee Druze is present in the Hopewell or other pre-Colum bian Na- tive Americans (see Figure 1). Nor do we see any of the common Druze or Middle Eastern Y-chromosome haplogroups in indigenous Americans. The genetic data therefore provide no evidence whatsoever for a migration of Is- raelites to eastern North America. Finally, DNA studies do not suggest that haplogroup X began to disperse out of the Middle East only about 2,000 years ago, as diffusionist Rod Meldrum claims in the Lost Civiliza- tions video. Meldrum argues that there is a scientific controversy over the rate of mtDNA mutation, and he suggests If there had been a pre-Columbian migration of that (a) the most accurate mutation rate estimates come from human pedigree Israelites to eastern North America, we would studies and (b) those mutation rates almost certainly see other common Middle demonstrate that haplogroup X began to diversify and spread approximately Eastern lineages in the Hope well and other two thousand years ago. However, the particular controversy that Meldrum Native American populations. We don’t. cites is a decade old, concerns the mutation rate in only one small segment of mtDNA (the control region), and has generally been resolved. Pedigree studies measure the rate of mutation ob-

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CIVILIZATIONS LOST AND FOUND: PART THREE

served in parent-offspring comparisons, by suggesting that it is instead those al. 2003. Origin and diffusion of mtDNA haplogroup X. American Journal of Human Genetics but many mutations are eliminated “mainstream” scholars who are the real 73: 1178–90. within a few generations of their occur- racists because they deny Native Amer- Shlush, Liran I., Doron M. Behar, Guennady Yud- rence because of natural selection, ge- icans their role in an already globalized kovsky, et al. 2008. The Druze: A population genetic refugium of the Near East. PLoS ONE netic drift, and recurrent mutation at world of the early centuries of the Com- 3(5): e2105. some sites in the DNA. The measurable mon Era. However, the only support for Soares, Pedro, Luca Ermini, Noel Thomson, et al. rate of mtDNA evolution therefore de- this picture of Native American–Old 2009. Correcting for purifying selection: An improved human mitochondrial molecular creases over time (Soares et al. 2009), World interactions two thousand years clock. American Journal of Human Genetics 84: making it inappropriate to use mutation ago comes from resurrected frauds and 740–59. rate estimates from pedigree studies for distorted history. There is no credible Deborah A. Bolnick is dating the origin and diversification of archaeological or genetic evidence to assistant professor of most lineages (for example, any that suggest that any Old World peoples anthropology at the Uni- originated more than a few generations migrated to the Americas after the ini- versity of Texas at ago). Instead, the mtDNA mutation rate tial incursion from Siberia prior to the Austin. is calculated by measuring the number tentative forays of the Norse beginning of genetic differences between two or at around 1000 CE other than limited more individuals (or species) and then contacts between Siberia and the Amer - dividing that number by the length of ican arctic. n time since they diverged from a com- References mon ancestor. The timing of their diver- Kenneth L. Feder is pro- gence is based on fossil, archaeological, Behar, Doron M., Michael F. Hammer, Daniel fessor of anthropology Garrigan, et al. 2004. MtDNA evidence for a at Central Connecticut and/or geological evidence, and it is not genetic bottleneck in the early history of the State University. He is a Ashkenazi Jewish population. European Jour- simply “theoretical” (as Mel drum sug- fellow of the Committee gests). Furthermore, Mel drum does not nal of Human Genetics 12: 355–64. Bolnick, Deborah A., and David G. Smith. 2007. for Skeptical Inquiry. rely on newer findings to argue that Migration and social structure among the haplogroup X began to diversify and Hopewell: Evidence from ancient DNA. spread only two thousand years ago, as American Antiquity 72: 627–44. Brown, Michael D., Seyed H. Hosseini, Antonio he claims, but rather on an old and un- Torroni, et al. 1998. MtDNA haplogroup X: Bradley T. Lepper is the usually fast estimate of the mtDNA an ancient link between Europe/Western Asia curator of archaeology mutation rate (Parsons et al. 1997). Vir- and North America? American Journal of for the Ohio Historical So- Human Genetics 63:1852–61. ciety in Columbus, Ohio. tually all pedigree studies have found Feder, Kenneth, Bradley T. Lepper, Terry A. Barn- significantly lower mutation rates hart, and Deborah A. Bolnick. 2011. Civiliza- (Howell et al. 2003) than the one Mel- tions lost and found: Fabricating history, part one: An alternate reality. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER drum uses, which suggests that hap- 35(5) (September/October): 38–45. Terry A. Barnhart is pro- logroup X began diversifying much ear- Howell, Neil, Christy Bogolin Smejkal, D.A. fessor of history at East- lier than he claims. Studies of the Mackey, et al. 2003. The pedigree rate of se- quence divergence in the human mitochondr- ern Illinois University in complete mitochondrial genome (rather ial genome: There is a difference between phy- Charleston, Illinois. than just the control region), using less logenetic and pedigree rates. American Journal controversial mutation rates for the of Human Genetics 72: 659–70. Kemp, Brian M., and Theodore G. Schurr. 2010. mtDNA coding region, also suggest that Ancient and modern genetic variation in the haplogroup X began to diversify much Americas. In Human Variation in the Americas. earlier (~31,800 years ago; Soares et al. Benjamin M. Auerbach, editor. Center for Ar- chaeological Investigations, Occasional Paper 2009). No. 38: 12–50. Conclusion Lepper, Bradley T., Kenneth L. Feder, Terry A. Barnhart, and Deborah A. Bolnick. 2011. Civ- Disclaimer ilizations lost and found: Fabricating history, In the past, many scholars have pointed part two: False messages in stone. SKEPTICAL We are well aware that a claim underlying the to a sometimes explicitly racist agenda INQUIRER 35(6) (November/December): 48– Lost Civilizations documentary—that the behind the claims of diffusionists who 54. mound-building people of the Amer ican Mid- Mills, Lisa. 2003. Mitochondrial DNA analysis of west were migrants from the Middle East argue that the glories of Native Ameri- the Ohio Hopewell of the Hopewell Mound 2,000 years ago—may be in formed by religious can civilizations were achieved only group. Unpublished PhD dissertation, De- doctrine. It is our position in this paper, how- through borrowing from various Old partment of Anthropology, The Ohio State ever, that whatever inspires this claim is not University, Columbus, Ohio. nearly as important as the fact that it is plainly World groups. The producers of the Lost Parsons, Thomas J., David S. Muniec, Kevin Sul- wrong. As such, we will leave it to others to as- Civilizations of North America and the livan, et al. 1997. A high observed substitution sess the role played, if any, by religion in shap- diffusionists they feature in their docu- rate in the human mitochondrial DNA con- ing Lost Civilizations and focus instead on sci- trol region. Nature Genetics 15: 363–68. entific evidence relevant to that claim. mentary turn this argument on its head Reidla, Maere, Toomas Kivisild, Ene Metspalu, et

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