Analysis of ancient bone DNA: techniques and applications

Hagelberg, Erika; Bell, Lynne; Allen, Tim; Boyde, A.; Jones, S. J.; Clegg, J. B.

doi:10.1098/rstb.1991.0090

Cited by 112 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The majority of these remains came from settlement mounds in semi-arid areas, apart from those bones from Tel Hreiz, Atlit Yam and Newe Yam, which were all from submerged sites in the Mediterranean Sea. None of the Near Eastern remains could be considered well preserved using the gross morphological criteria outlined by Hagelberg et al [18]. On the other hand, teeth and bones from the two French caves, Baume d'Oullen and Combe Obscure, were very well preserved and, with reference to radiocarbon dates and previous aDNA data from caves in Southern France [20], could be expected to have both well preserved collagen and aDNA.…”

Section: Archaeological Materials Collectionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Ancient DNA analysis of 101 cattle remains: limits and prospects

Edwards

MacHugh

Dobney

et al. 2004

Journal of Archaeological Science

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A total of 101 cattle teeth and bones from 13 archaeological sites between 1000 to 9000 years old were assessed for the presence of verifiable mitochondrial sequences. It was possible to reproducibly amplify and sequence mitochondrial control region DNA extracted from twelve of the samples. The results were compared with published extant data by constructing phylogenetic networks. The sequences obtained from the cattle specimens were either identical to the reference sequence for modern cattle or closely related to it. They included three sequences not previously documented. The network analysis of the ancient data highlights the proximity of the ancient DNA cattle sequences to modern Near Eastern, European and African Bos taurus, as well as regional continuity.

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Section: Archaeological Materials Collectionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Ancient DNA analysis of 101 cattle remains: limits and prospects

Edwards

MacHugh

Dobney

et al. 2004

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…Furthermore, microbial exploitation is a primary mechanism of bone collagen loss and has been variably linked with successful extraction of organic biomolecules, including DNA (Hagelberg et al 1991;Grupe 1995;Colson et al 1997;Cipollaro et al 1998;Geigl 2002;Götherström et al 2002;Haynes et al 2002;Rollo et al 2002;Collins et al 2009;Ottoni et al 2009;Devièse et al 2010). Establishing the factors that affect bone bioerosion may help to account for variation in organic biomolecular yield amongst archaeological bones and contribute to predictive models of preservation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Investigation Into the Relationship Between Funerary Treatment and Bacterial Bioerosion in European Archaeological Human Bone

Booth

2015

Archaeometry

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A central problem in funerary archaeology is interpreting how the corpse was manipulated in the immediate post mortem period. The extent of bacterial bioerosion to the internal bone microstructure has been proposed as a means to infer the early post mortem history of a corpse, as it has been suggested that this form of bone diagenesis is produced by an organism's putrefactive gut bacteria. Under this model, different forms of funerary treatment would be expected to leave characteristic signatures of bioerosion in archaeological bone. Here, we tested the extent to which bacterial bioerosion of ancient human bones reflected funerary treatment, through histological analysis of 301 archaeological human bone thin sections from 25 European archaeological sites. We found that bioerosion was significantly influenced by whether a bone originated from a neonatal individual or an anoxic context. When these remains were excluded, bioerosion was controlled by archaeological phase in a manner consistent with known early post mortem treatment and forensic models of bodily decomposition. These findings suggest that microscopic analyses of bone have useful applications in reconstructions of funerary processes and provide some insight into factors that may control the persistence of organic biomolecules and fossilization.

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“…Furthermore, the preservation of DNA in archaeological bones has been correlated with various factors including nearly perfect micromorphology, with only small areas of localized demineralization [30], lamellae integrity [7], a more compact appearance of bone in scanning electron micrographs and high collagen content [8]. We therefore analyzed the medieval human bone samples by transmission electron microscopy, which is a powerful tool that has been used to study the ultrastructural characteristics of both archaeological and fossilized bones [31,32].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNA and bone structure preservation in medieval human skeletons

Coulson-Thomas

Norton

Coulson‐Thomas

et al. 2015

Forensic Science International

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Nader, DNA and bone structure preservation in medieval human skeletons, Forensic Science International (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint. 2015.04.005 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t AbstractMorphological and ultrastructural data from archaeological human bones are scarce, particularly data that have been correlated with information on the preservation of molecules such as DNA. Here we examine the bone structure of macroscopically wellpreserved medieval human skeletons by transmission electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry, and the quantity and quality of DNA extracted from these skeletons. DNA technology has been increasingly used for analyzing physical evidence in archaeological forensics; however, the isolation of ancient DNA is difficult since it is highly degraded, extraction yields are low and the co-extraction of PCR inhibitors is a problem. We adapted and optimized a method that is frequently used for isolating DNA from modern samples, Chelex® 100 (Bio-Rad) extraction, for isolating DNA from archaeological human bones and teeth. The isolated DNA was analysed by real-time PCR using primers targeting the sex determining region on the Y chromosome (SRY) and STR typing using the AmpFlSTR® Identifiler PCR Amplification kit. Our results clearly show the preservation of bone matrix in medieval bones and the presence of intact osteocytes with well preserved encapsulated nuclei. In addition, we show how effective Chelex® 100 is for isolating ancient DNA from archaeological bones and teeth. This optimized method is suitable for STR typing using kits aimed specifically at degraded and difficult DNA templates since amplicons of up to 250 bp were successfully amplified.

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Analysis of ancient bone DNA: techniques and applications

Cited by 112 publications

References 24 publications

Ancient DNA analysis of 101 cattle remains: limits and prospects

Ancient DNA analysis of 101 cattle remains: limits and prospects

An Investigation Into the Relationship Between Funerary Treatment and Bacterial Bioerosion in European Archaeological Human Bone

DNA and bone structure preservation in medieval human skeletons

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