Toca do Enoque Hunter-Gatherer Genome

Toca do Enoque sits within the dramatic sandstone landscapes of Serra da Capivara in Piauí, a region rich in rock shelters and long human histories. The single sampled individual dates to 1681–1533 BCE (radiocarbon range). Archaeological data from the broader Serra da Capivara area indicate repeated use of caves and open-air sites by Late Holocene hunter-gatherer groups, but specific excavation details for this burial or context remain limited.

The cinematic cliffs and painted rock surfaces of the region belie an equally complex human story: seasonal mobility across riverine and dry woodland mosaics, opportunistic foraging, and the use of sheltered caves for short-term occupation or mortuary practices. Limited evidence suggests stone tools, hearth features, and patchy faunal remains characterize contemporaneous sites nearby, but careful excavation records are needed to link material culture directly to the sampled individual.

Because only one genome is available, any reconstruction of population emergence here is cautious. This specimen provides a temporal anchor for a hunter-gatherer presence in Serra da Capivara during the late second millennium BCE, hinting at continuity of deep South American lineages in northeastern Brazil.

The genetic data come from a single individual (sample count = 1), so conclusions are preliminary. The paternal lineage is assigned to haplogroup Q, a lineage widely associated with Native American populations and with deep roots in the initial peopling of the Americas. The maternal lineage is A2e, a subclade of haplogroup A2 commonly observed among indigenous populations of the Americas. Together, these markers are consistent with ancestry deriving from ancient Beringian and early American gene pools rather than recent extra-continental input.

Genome-wide ancestry from one Late Holocene individual can hint at continuity with earlier South American hunter-gatherer populations, but cannot resolve regional diversity, sex-biased migration, or subtle admixture events on its own. With only one sample, observed Y and mtDNA haplogroups confirm local representation of pan-American lineages but do not quantify their frequency or variability in Serra da Capivara populations.

Future sampling across stratified contexts and direct comparison with other ancient genomes from Brazil and neighboring regions will be essential to test hypotheses about demographic continuity, population structure, and interactions with emerging agricultural groups elsewhere in South America.