Applications of Archaeogenetics: Assessing the Nutrition Profiles of Native American Groups

Abstract

Modern geneticists have made great strides in identifying the genetic factors underlying nutritional disorders. In the context of the nutritional disorders that affect Native American groups, this paper explores the potential of archaeogenetics in identifying the extent to which these genetic markers are preserved in ancient DNA and the subsequent information that they can provide regarding the etiologies and dispersal patterns of such disorders.