Ancient DNA from 45 colonial Montreal burials comes back European, with no sign of Indigenous mixing
Researchers led by Université de Montréal found 45 people from Montreal's Notre-Dame Cemetery consistent with 100% European ancestry, mostly French. The result tests accounts of settler-Indigenous mixing in New France, for one burial ground only.
The Scientist · Science desk
A bar showing 45 sequenced individuals as a part of the about 200 individuals excavated.
- Individuals sequenced, claim 21 45 of 200 of about 200 excavated 23% computed
Individuals sequenced The rest of the 200
| Share | Part | Whole | Percent | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individuals sequenced | 45 of about 200 excavated | 200 of about 200 excavated | 23% (computed) | 21 |
What happened
- The study is in PNAS, and Diane Martin-Moya says it is the first time ancient DNA has been sequenced in Quebec.
- The team sampled 60 skull bones and 33 teeth from the 45 people, favouring the cochlea because it is least exposed to the environment.
- A preliminary 3D morphological analysis by Martin-Moya had pointed to the same conclusion.
- Reconstructed DNA sequences were compared with global population databases to find markers linked to geographic regions.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint No further cemetery is planned, so every other burial ground of the period stays untested.
- Who has to decide decision Because remains are exhumed and partly destroyed during analysis, the researchers say archaeologists must reexamine some of their practices.
- What doesn't add up contradiction Archaeological data place Indigenous people in the colony's first cemetery, Pointe-a-Calliere, while the 45 people from the main one show European ancestry only.
Forty-five people is a sample, and the denominator is the first thing to check. The excavations unearthed the remains of about 200 individuals [7], so the sequenced group is roughly 22.5% of them [21]. Phys.org's account of the study does not say how those 45 were chosen. The report says the remains of wealthier people were better cared for and preserved, and Martin-Moya said poorer families lacked the means to move their dead when the cemetery was destroyed by urbanization [16].
Zero admixed individuals in 45 is informative within limits. Suppose, generously, that the 45 were a random draw. The standard rule of three then puts the upper end of a 95% interval for the true rate at about 3 in 45, or 6.7% [22]. Mixing that was common in this burial ground would very probably have shown up. A few percent need not have.
Martin-Moya framed the result narrowly. "At the subsampling level, at least, there is no evidence of settler-Indigenous admixture," she said [9]. On other burial grounds she was explicit: "That doesn't mean the same would be true in other cemeteries, such as the cemetery for the poor, which dates from the same period," she said, "but in Notre-Dame Cemetery, which was the main one at the time, that is not the case." [10]
The result ran against the team's hypothesis. Isabelle Ribot, the bioarchaeologist who supervised the work, said some historical accounts suggest considerable mixing between settlers and Indigenous peoples [20]. "We hoped to demonstrate this by analyzing colonial cemeteries," she said [14]. The Phys.org report says the findings support doubts that Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers have raised about the narrative of admixture and harmonious relations between the French and First Nations [15].
On the burials that do include Indigenous people, Martin-Moya said: "Even if we find (the remains of) Indigenous people in cemeteries, the question remains: What was their place in society?" [13]
We think the result holds for what it samples: 45 people from the main parish burial ground, which was in use from 1683 to 1796 [18]. Statements about New France as a whole need more burial grounds than this one.
What to watch
- Whether anyone sequences remains from the cemetery for the poor, the one site Martin-Moya said could give a different answer.
- The PNAS methods: how the 45 were picked from about 200 individuals, and how small an Indigenous ancestry share the comparison databases can detect.
- Whether archaeologists respond to the researchers' call to change practices when remains are partly destroyed during analysis.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence55
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
A Université de Montréal-led research team analyzed the genetic origins of human remains found in Old Montreal and reported unexpected results.
- [2]
Diane Martin-Moya analyzed the DNA of 45 individuals from Montreal's Notre-Dame Cemetery, a burial ground dating back to New France.
- [3]
The analyzed remains were consistent with 100% European ancestry, mostly French.
- [4]
The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
- [5]
"This is the first time ancient DNA has been sequenced in Quebec," Martin-Moya said.
- [6]
The team sampled 60 skull bones and 33 associated teeth from a total of 45 individuals, using the cochlea from the temporal bone because it is the part least exposed to the environment and least likely to be contaminated.
- [7]
Excavations from the 1990s to 2013 during renovation of the square in front of Notre-Dame Basilica unearthed the remains of about 200 individuals, which the City of Montreal loaned to Université de Montréal.
- [8]
Martin-Moya's preliminary 3D morphological analysis had pointed to the same conclusion.
- [9]
"At the subsampling level, at least, there is no evidence of settler-Indigenous admixture," said Martin-Moya.
- [10]
"That doesn't mean the same would be true in other cemeteries, such as the cemetery for the poor, which dates from the same period," she noted, "but in Notre-Dame Cemetery, which was the main one at the time, that is not the case."
- [11]
The research team is not planning to expand the study to other cemeteries.
- [12]
Archaeological data confirm that Indigenous people were buried in the Pointe-a-Calliere cemetery, the first established by the settlers.
- [13]
"Even if we find (the remains of) Indigenous people in cemeteries, the question remains: What was their place in society?" said Martin-Moya.
- [14]
"We hoped to demonstrate this by analyzing colonial cemeteries," said Isabelle Ribot.
- [15]
The findings support the doubts expressed by Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers about the narrative of admixture and harmonious relations between the French and First Nations.
- [16]
The study highlights a disparity in the treatment of rich and poor: the remains of wealthier people were better cared for and preserved, and Martin-Moya said poorer families did not have the means to move their dead when the cemetery was destroyed by urbanization.
- [17]
The researchers believe archaeologists must reexamine some of their practices; currently, human remains are exhumed and partially destroyed during analysis.
- [18]
Notre-Dame Cemetery was the burial ground of Notre-Dame parish, where Notre-Dame Basilica now stands, and was in use from 1683 to 1796.
- [19]
The DNA sequences were reconstructed with bioinformatics and compared with global population databases to identify markers linked to geographic regions.
- [20]
Ribot said some historical accounts suggest that during the colonial period there was considerable mixing between the settlers and Indigenous peoples.
- [21]
The 45 sequenced individuals are roughly 22.5% of the about 200 individuals excavated.
- [22]
If the 45 were a random draw, observing zero admixed individuals is compatible with a true rate of up to about 6.7% at 95% confidence (rule of three).
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Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- phys.orgGenetic evidence raises questions about settler-Indigenous relations in New France
1 article · October 16, 2026
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Topics
- BioarchaeologyFollow
- Ancient DNAFollow
- New France colonial historyFollow
Entities
- Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesFollow
- Université de MontréalFollow
- Phys.orgFollow
- Isabelle RibotFollow
- Notre-Dame Cemetery (Montreal)Follow
- Diane Martin-MoyaFollow