Ancient DNA from Montreal cemetery reveals limited Indigenous ancestry

Ancient DNA from 45 skeletons in Montreal's Notre-Dame Cemetery showed exclusively French European ancestry with no recent Indigenous or African admixture. The study, published on October 5 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed individuals buried between 1683 and 1796. Lead researcher Diane Martin-Moya, a biological anthropologist, and her colleagues sequenced DNA from skeletal remains and compared the data with genomes from European, West African, and Indigenous American populations. The results align with prior genealogical and genetic studies indicating that Indigenous ancestry among modern French Canadians is very limited.

Context of the cemetery and burial practices

Notre-Dame Cemetery was established in Montreal in 1683 and used for Catholic burials until 1796. The graves of the studied individuals were scattered across different parts of the cemetery rather than organized into family plots. Social stratification was evident in burial practices. Wealthier residents and clergy were typically interred inside the church, where they were more likely to be exhumed and moved later. The city's poorer residents were buried outside the church, and many were further buried beneath the expanding city. The skeletons in this study may represent the remains of these lower-class French colonists.

Limitations and broader historical context

The sample is small and comes from a single cemetery. The results do not necessarily apply to all of colonial Montreal. Archival records confirm that some Indigenous people were buried in Catholic cemeteries in Montreal as early as the 17th century. Over time, Indigenous communities were increasingly separated from the colonial town through land dispossession and the relocation of missions. Enslaved people, both Indigenous and African, were often buried on their enslaver's property or in cemeteries for the poor. Changes in cemetery use over time, including reburials and urban development, may have disturbed earlier graves and influenced the findings.

The study does not show that unions between Indigenous and French people never happened. Relationships were complex and included alliances, trade, conflict, and sometimes family ties. Not identifying recent admixture in this sample does not imply that Indigenous or African-descended people were absent from the city. Biological ancestry alone cannot establish Indigenous belonging, which is rooted in kinship, community, and relationships with land, not in blood or DNA. A single ancestor from over 300 years ago does not equate to being raised within an Indigenous family or nation.

Researcher insights and public perception

Diane Martin-Moya conducted the research while at the University of Montreal. She notes that family stories of an Indigenous ancestor are very common in Quebec, amplified by commercial genealogy and DNA tests. "The ancient DNA showed that all 45 individuals we analyzed had French European ancestry, with no sign of recent Indigenous or African admixture," Martin-Moya said. The analysis identified several genetic lineages spanning multiple generations within the sample. Raquel Fleskes, a molecular anthropologist at Dartmouth College not involved in the research, shows that the findings highlight the need for broader genetic sampling across multiple sites and time periods to better understand the demographic complexity of colonial Montreal.