Native American mtDNA Prehistory in the American Southwest

haplotype ABSTRACT This study examines the mtDNA diver-sity of the proposed descendants of the multiethnic Ho-hokam and Anasazi cultural traditions, as well as Uto-Aztecan and Southern-Athapaskan groups, to investigate hypothesized migrations associated with the Southwest region. The mtDNA haplogroups of 117 Native Americans from southwestern North America were determined. The hypervariable segment I (HVSI) portion of the control region of 53 of these individuals was sequenced, and the within-haplogroup diversity of 18 Native American popu-lations from North, Central, and South America was an-alyzed. Within North America, populations in the West contain higher amounts of diversity than in other regions, probably due to a population expansion and high levels o