An unexpected case in the prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula: Biogeographical origin analysis through mitochondrial DNA

Abstract

We have determined the mitochondrial haplotype (A73G T16172C C16223T G16257A C16261T) on a Bronze Age Individual from an archaeological site located in Alaejos (Valladolid, Central Spain). This haplotype is typical from N9a2′4′5 or N9a2′4′5′11 mitochondrial haplogroups, which are nowadays widely distributed in the Asian region. Here, we compare and discuss the frequency of this haplogroup in nowadays and in ancient human populations, especially in contemporaries of the individual under study. The biogeographical analysis has been carried out by amplifying two overlapping fragments of the Hipervariable Region I (HRVI) and other two of the Hipervariable Region II (HRVII) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Moreover the mtDNA haplogroup was assigned by the analysis of mtSNPs in coding regions. Furthermore, the experimental process was performed by duplicate to obtain a reliable haplogroup. Along the all process, ancient DNA authenticity criteria were observed.