Inferring the Relationships of the Gallina and Pottery Mound Pueblo Populations Using Craniometric and Dental Morphological Biodistance

Abstract

This article examines the biological relationships of two groups from the precontact Southwestern United States: the Gallina of Northern New Mexico and Pottery Mound Pueblo in the Middle Rio Grande region of New Mexico. These two groups existed at different times and differ considerably in their social conditions and cultural traditions. We examine geographic and temporal structure of relationships by testing an isolation by distance model. We also test whether correlations exist between results from craniometric and dental datasets. Included are individuals from eleven geographic and ancestral linguistic groupings. No correlations exist between the dental and craniometric data, but results for both data types revealed a similar pattern of relationships. The Gallina may have moved to the Middle Rio Grande in the late 1200s AD and the populations from La Plata Highway and Pottery Mound are similar. Our results do not support isolation by temporal or geographic distance models.