Diversidad genética en restos humanos arqueológicos del sitio El Diquecito (Costa sur, laguna Mar Chiquita, provincia de Córdoba)

We present the results of analysis of haplogroups and sequences of mtDNA hypervariable region I (HVR-I) in human remains from the site El Diquecito, in the southern shore of Mar Chiquita lagoon, in Cordoba, dated between 2562 ±47 and 537 ±57 14C yr BP. Out of the 14 individuals analyzed, 11 could be sequenced and assigned to one Native American mitochondrial lineage, which matched the one previously determined by APLP. The 7 haplogroup C1 sequences correspond to 2 different haplotypes, although only one did not present the nodal haplotype. The 4 D1 haplogroup sequences belong to 3 different haplotypes: one corresponds to the nodal haplotype, one to the subhaplogroup D1j, and the remaining two present the subhaplogroup D1g. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences allowed, in some cases, to infer the geographic origin of the genetic contribution occurred in the region of Mar Chiquita lagoon, and in other cases, to identify lineages originated in the central region of Argentina. While the conclusions that can be drawn from the analysis of one single site are limited, the study of the mitochondrial lineages of the ancient inhabitants of the south shore of Mar Chiquita lagoon represents a new contribution to understanding the microevolutionary processes undergone by the indigenous populations of central Argentina.