ancient DNA (Other Keyword)
1-25 (205 Records)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The purpose of this poster is to develop an educational curriculum on archaeology to be used for a K-12 audience by adapting an existing program, put forward by the BLM, Project Archaeology. This new curriculum, "The Archaeology of Home," seeks to engage the public within southern New Mexico and to convey the value of stewardship and preservation. The area of...
Adventures of the Mountain Hare: An Ancient DNA Study (2019)
This is an abstract from the "HumAnE Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Mountain hares today can be found from Scandinavia to Eastern Russia with isolated populations in Ireland, Scotland and the Alps. While their modern distribution is well understood, the extent of their past range and interactions with humans remains unknown. The primary aim of my research is to assess the natural and human-aided distribution of mountain hares across...
The Ancestors Speak: Community-Based Paleogenomics (2020)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Community Archaeology in 2020: Conventional or Revolutionary?" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Paleogenomics is now a well-established method for studying archaeological human remains. When geneticists, archaeologists, and descendent communities work together, it can also be a powerful tool for community building and reconciliation. This paper outlines several collaborative projects in which local...
Ancestry and Heritage at a South Carolina Rice Plantation (2018)
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Georgetown County in South Carolina housed some of the largest slave plantations and rice agriculture in the New World. Today, the descendants of these enslaved laborers form the Gullah Geechee community and comprise a distinct African-derived creolized cultural praxis. This study concerns itself with the long-term trajectory of biological and cultural change experienced by the individuals living in the South Carolina Lowcountry. First, ancient DNA extraction...
Ancient DNA Analyses of Dental Calculus from Plains Village Collections (2018)
More than a generation since the implementation of NAGPRA, many museums continue forward with the process of repatriation. This creates a unique opportunity for active and collaborative engagement of Native American communities in both the inception and implementation of scientific research. Biomolecular analyses of dental calculus can be an attractive research avenue because they address questions of mutual interest to tribes and scientists, and the sampling techniques are non-destructive to...
Ancient DNA analysis and the Indo-European dispersal (2017)
New methods for analyzing ancient human DNA are introducing a new "molecular archaeology". aDNA permits us to detect mating networks, to see ancestry evolve across generations as populations expanded or died out, to track migrants and their genes across geographic space, and to say whether and with what frequency migrants and the indigenous population mated at the destination. aDNA analysis is an unprecedented tool for the study of ancient migrations, kinship, and biological adaptation. This...
Ancient DNA Analysis from Micro-fractures in Bridge River Stone Tools (2018)
There has been little research specifically designed to examine variability in how the porosity of lithic raw materials and micro-fractures from use-wear create environments that trap and preserve residues containing DNA on lithic tools. This study examines lithic tools made from a variety of raw materials to assess the effects of variability of raw material type, use-wear, and damage on preservation of ancient DNA (aDNA). aDNA analysis of stone tools can begin to address if the tools were used...
Ancient DNA analysis of early Neolithic cattle from Houtaomuga site, Northern China (2017)
The Houtaomuga site is located on the east bank of Xinhuangpao Lake, in Da'an County, Jilin Province, Northeast China. According to the archaeological excavations, the Houtaomuga site can be divided into seven phases from the early Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age (8000-2050 BP). Although many Bos skeletal remains were found in the phases Houtaomuga III (6300-5500 cal. BP) and Houtaomuga IV (5000 cal. BP), it was very difficult to identify to the species level. In this study, ancient DNA...
Ancient DNA Analysis of Fish Remains from Charlie Lake Cave (HbRf-39), British Columbia, Canada (2017)
Excavations of Charlie Lake Cave (HbRf-39) in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, have recovered well-preserved faunal remains from stratified deposits that span the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. These remains represent a variety of taxa, including amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles. A previous morphological analysis of the fish remains from the site (n=1,235) identified the majority of the fish remains as sucker (Catostomus sp.) (n=669). Due to bone fragmentation and other...
Ancient DNA Analysis of Microbes Preserved in Dental Calculus: Challenges And Opportunities (2018)
Sequencing ancient microorganisms using next generation sequencing approaches have truly revolutionized our view of the past. While past paleomicrobiological research was largely restricted to coprolites and sediments, the recent analyses of ancient calcified dental plaque has provided novel insights into ancient human diets, disease, behaviors, and lifestyles. Despite the benefits, obtaining DNA from diverse microbial communities is difficult and is fraught with issues for first time...
Ancient DNA Analysis of Orton Quarry (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Ancient DNA in Service of Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Orton Quarry site is a Late Prehistoric ossuary along the coast of Lake Erie in Pennsylvania. In March 1991, heavy-equipment operators accidentally destroyed a majority of the site before archeologists arrived. Since the excavation very little had been published on the Orton Quarry site, it’s importance or its original inhabitants. One of the...
Ancient DNA analysis to investigate the history of malaria and malaria genetic adaptations in Europe (2016)
Historical records and epidemiological studies can be a wealth of information about ancient diseases, nevertheless in some cases DNA evidence is also needed. The data showing high frequencies of malaria genetic adaptations (MGA) in modern and historical populations testify to the presence of malaria in the past along the Mediterranean coast. However, neither modern epidemiological data nor historical records can explain the differences in MGA frequencies that we observe in some regions....
Ancient DNA and Cranial Morphometric Analysis into Ancestry of Five Burials from Colonial Delaware (2015)
Five burials were excavated from a small Colonial cemetery at the Elkins site in New Castle County, Delaware by Hunter Research, Inc. for Delaware DOT. The remains were analyzed for mitochondrial DNA haplogroups in conjunction with a standard skeletal biological assessment. Analysis of the mtDNA demonstrated European maternal lineages for all of the individuals. Additionally, an infant and an elderly male shared a derived haplogroup T haplotype, suggesting a matrilineal relationship between...
Ancient DNA and Historical Ecology: An Innovative Approach to Environmental Conservation (2017)
It is now generally accepted that humans are the primary drivers of environmental change; virtually no ecosystem has escaped our influence. With increasing awareness of the impact of humanity on the biosphere, researchers have begun to focus on understanding, protecting and perpetuating biological diversity at all scales and levels of biological organization. One of the best ways to understand current and future anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity is by studying their effects in the past....
Ancient DNA from Campeche, Mexico, Reveals a Socially Segregated Population in the First Two Centuries after Hispanic Contact (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Increasing the Accessibility of Ancient DNA within Archaeology" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The colonial period in Mexico was an unprecedented time when previously disparate populations began living together under Hispanic leadership and Catholic faith, often unwillingly. Immediately after the conquest, Spanish colonists established urban strongholds, often bringing African slaves and servants with them. In these...
Ancient DNA from Etruscan Tombs and Beyond: A Case Study from San Giuliano (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Etruscan Centralization to Medieval Marginalization: Shifts in Settlement and Mortuary Traditions at San Giuliano, Italy" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Ever since the Etruscans disappeared, their origins have been heavily discussed and debated and several hypotheses have been put forward that utilizes their language and culture as a source. Recently DNA have been use to try and solve this mystery. Modern DNA in...
Ancient DNA from Stone Tools (2017)
Proteins and DNA can be trapped in the microcracks on the surface of stone tools, which can then be extracted and analyzed to aid in inferring the use of the tool (Shanks et al. 2001; 2005). This nondestructive method involves the use of sonication to release DNA from the microcracks, then amplification of regions of mitochondrial DNA that are species specific. This technique was applied to ground and chipped stone from the Bridge River site in British Columbia. Focus on groundstone was of...
Ancient DNA in archaeological bone tools from La Ventilla, Teotihuacan: sex determination and genetic structure. (2016)
La Ventilla is a household from Teotihuacan, a great city whose people lived during Classic Period (1-700 AC) reaching a vast demographic grow. Farmers and merchants were residents of La Ventilla. Archaeological evidence has showed commercial, political and service interchanges with Teotihuacan spreading to all Mexico. We analyzed population diversity and genetic distance between La Ventilla and 11 ancient groups from Mexico. Materials from bone tools set were processed yielding ancient DNA; the...
Ancient DNA Investigations of Possible Casas Grandes – Chalchihuites Interactions (2018)
Paquimé, the political and religious center of the Casas Grandes culture, demonstrates extensive evidence of Mesoamerican influence, including macaws, architectural characteristics such as ballcourts and platform mounds, and mortuary practices in the form of modified trophy skulls and human sacrifice. The role of Mesoamerican influence on the development and florescence of the Casas Grandes culture remains an important but contentious research question for the late prehistoric...
Ancient DNA of a nomadic population provides evidence of the genetic structure of the royal ancient Mongols (2017)
The genetic diversity of the ancient Mongols, especially the Gold family of Genghis Khan remains unclear. Gangga site was a nomadic site dated to the 8th to 10th centuries AD in the HulunBuir grassland, northeast China. This site belonged to the Shiwei population, believed to be the direct ancestors of the ancient Mongols. Nine graves at the Gangga site were excavated with log coffins, which were considered the characteristic burial custom of the royal ancient Mongols, included the Gold family...
Ancient DNA of Camelids from Far Southern Peru: Whole Genome Enrichment Methods Reveal Breeding History at Tiwanaku and Inca Sites (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Recent Advances in Zooarchaeological Methods" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Prior to Spanish colonization, the indigenous peoples of Andean South America (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina) incorporated domesticated camelids (Camelidae), llamas (Lama glama), and alpacas (Vicugña pacos) into their economic and ritual life and were skillfully adept at breeding and rearing camelids for different utilitarian and...
Ancient DNA Perspectives on Kinship and Racialized Labor at a 17th century Delaware Frontier Site (2018)
The Avery’s Rest archaeological site near Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, represents an early phase of European colonization in North America. Previous archaeological and osteological analysis conducted by the Archaeological Society of Delaware and the Smithsonian Institution, respectively, indicated the presence of two burial clusters containing 11 excellently preserved individuals, one containing individuals of European ancestry and the other individuals of African ancestry. Ancient DNA (aDNA)...
Ancient DNA prospecting in the Caribbean: preliminary findings and future perspectives (2015)
Recent advancements in DNA sequencing has initiated a revolution in the field of Archaeogenetics. The results of these new studies have fundamentally affected our understanding of early human migration and peoples. Limitations, however, still exist, notably in tropical environments. These environments are believed to affect the preservation of DNA in human fossils, to the extent where DNA extraction and analysis is at the limit of even the newest technologies. A specialized facility has been...
Ancient DNA Research during a Global Pandemic: Insights from Fieldwork at St. Mary’s Basilica in Norfolk, VA (2021)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Pandemic Fieldwork: Doing Fieldwork During a Pandemic" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. DNA sampling from human remains is becoming a common practice in archeological studies, as genetic data provide important insights into ancestry and kinship in burial settings. To ensure the authenticity of ancient DNA results, contamination of human remains with DNA from living people must be minimized. Here, we describe...
Ancient DNA Studies in Tropical Environments: A Study into the Genetics of the Pre-Columbian Indigenous Population of Puerto Rico (2017)
Studies into ancient DNA have advanced significantly in the last few years, but these have largely been absent in tropical environments. In the Caribbean, a number of questions still pertain as to the bioarchaeology of the indigenous pre-Columbian populations and the exact origin of these early inhabitants. Focusing on the skeletal remains of a late Saladoid population from Punta Candelero site (AD 640-1200), three correlated and simultaneous studies have been coordinated with the aim to...