ancient DNA (Other Keyword)
151-175 (205 Records)
This is an abstract from the "Thinking Big in the Andes: Papers in Honor of Charles Stanish" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. We employ a novel multidisciplinary approach to test the Inca (ca. 1400–1532 CE) policy of forced resettlement (mitma) in the Chincha Valley, Peru. This political strategy significantly transformed the Andean demographic landscape, but it has only been proposed based on intriguing yet ambiguous written sources and...
“Mutton” and the Paleogenomics of Coast Salish Woolly Dogs (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Dogs in the Archaeological Record" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Prior to European colonization, Indigenous Coast Salish peoples in the Pacific Northwest traditionally raised a long-haired domestic dog breed to harvest its hair for weaving. The decline of dog-hair weaving has been attributed to the introduction of machine-made blankets by British and American trading companies in the early nineteenth century, and...
New Approaches to Study Health and Disease in the Pre-Colonial circum-Caribbean (2017)
The most frequent pathologies found throughout the circum-Caribbean before arrival of the Europeans are dental and periodontal diseases. To date, ancient oral health has been studied using a variety of techniques, and recently ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis of dental calculus (calcified plaque) has shown great promise in revealing not only (oral) health and disease, but also diet and the composition of the oral microbiome over archaeological timescales. In this paper, we present ancient metagenomic...
New genetic perspectives on early maize cultivation in the American Southwest (2015)
Following the initial domestication of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) from a teosinte grass in Mexico, human populations dispersed the cultivar through trade and migration. Despite a long history of archaeology in the American Southwest, many questions about maize remain, including how the crop was dispersed northward from Mexico and how maize was acclimated to new environments. These unresolved questions can be explored in new ways, thanks to next-generation DNA sequencing technology and targeted...
New Phylogenetic Information from Ancient DNA for Central Panamá (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. New interpretations of Precolumbian Panamanian archaeological sequences and regions are provided. Results from ancient DNA (aDNA) analyses of remains from the site of Panamá Viejo, Panamá, are compared with a multiple burial found in the vicinity of La Pintada in Coclé, Panamá. The Panamá Viejo materials are classified as haplogroup A2 and include...
Next-generation sequencing unravels the relationship of Paleoeskimo and Thule dogs from the North American Arctic (2015)
The peopling of the North American Arctic, occurred in two waves. First the Paleoeskimo people migrated from Siberia roughly 4,000 BP, followed by the Thule people ca. 1000 BP. The Thule people are known for their innovation and rapid colonization of the North American Arctic, compared to small population sizes of the Paleoeskimo. A distinguishing characteristic of Thule culture relative to previous Arctic cultures was increased use of dogs, particularly for dogsled traction. Use of dogs by the...
The Not Very Patrilocal European Neolithic (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Two decades of strontium isotope and aDNA research on Central European Neolithic cemetery populations have consistently interpreted patrilocality, which is now a foregone conclusion. This paper questions those interpretations from a social anthropological perspective. Models are presented for interpreting strontium isotope ratios and aDNA that consider the...
Of Rabbits and Men: Using Ancient DNA and GMM to Investigate Rabbit Domestication (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Questioning the Fundamentals of Plant and Animal Domestication" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Rabbits are one of the most recently domesticated animals, and yet, over thousands of years, they have lived in a diverse range of relationships with people. This close interaction is recorded in archaeological and historical records and reflected today in the diversity of breeds worldwide. Whilst extensive research has been...
The ones who stayed behind? Genome-wide affinities of Okunev remains from Bronze Age South Siberia and the enduring dialogue of ancient DNA and physical anthropology. (2017)
Genome-wide ancient DNA data from Upper Paleolithic Siberians and deep time series in Europe challenge many traditional models of relationships between Native Americans, West Eurasians, and East Asians — commonplace units in physical anthropology — by recasting them as fusions of prehistoric ancestry streams that may unexpectedly cross-cut or fracture these categories. We evaluate new and published genome-wide data from remains attributed to Okunev — an archaeological culture of the Middle...
Oral Metagenomes from Native American Ancestors Reveal Distinct Microbial Lineages in the Precontact Era (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Disruption of the microbial community in the oral cavity, by diet, host genetics, or environmental factors, can lead to dysbiosis, promoting preferential growth of pathogenic microorganisms leading to a diseased state. The calcified matrix of dental calculus is a good source for ancient biomolecules belonging to bacterial species, allowing researchers to...
Paleogenetic and Paleopathological Studies at Pachacamac: Methodological Issues and Preliminary Results (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis can be a useful tool for sex determination, general mitochondrial lineage (haplogroup), and disease diagnosis in human remains. However, non-endogenous DNA contamination of archaeological material is a recurrent problematic, since excavation, handling, and storage usually don’t fit with the precautions recommended for aDNA...
A Paleogenetic Perspective on the Early Population History of the High Altitude Andes (2016)
The peopling of the high altitude Andes marks an important episode in South American population history, eventually leading to the formation of the most complex societies of the late pre-Columbian period, namely Wari, Tiwanaku, and Inca. Little is known about how population dynamic processes and genetic adaptation to physical stressors like hypoxia shaped the genetic diversity of the Andean highland populations over the ~10,000 years of human presence in high altitude leading to the emergence of...
A Paleogenomic Approach toward Reconstructing Bison Evolutionary History (2023)
This is an abstract from the "A Further Discussion on the Role of Archaeology in Resource and Public Land Management" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. At the end of the nineteenth century, overexploitation of bison reduced the population from an estimated 30 million to approximately 1,000 individuals. Despite the magnitude of this bottleneck, we do not understand how bison were affected at the genetic level, nor do we know past bison population...
Phoenician Settlements: A Story of Integration and Cultural Assimilation (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Since the second millennium BCE, the Phoenicians linked east and west through their established trade networks across the Mediterranean. We investigate the extent of Phoenician integration with the communities they settled across the western Mediterranean. Skeletal samples from Phoenician burial sites in Lebanon, Italy, Spain, and Tunisia were collected. We...
A Piece of Salted Snakehead and Its Implications for the Nineteenth-Century Chinese Diaspora Fish Trade (2019)
This is an abstract from the "One of a Kind: Approaching the Singular Artifact and the Archaeological Imagination" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Archaeologists have traditionally relied upon large datasets to investigate historical fishing industries, the distribution of fish products, and the effect of fishing on the environment. Such studies make critical contributions to understandings of past fisheries; however, not all fish stories require...
The Population Genetics of Machu Picchu (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Since its discovery a century ago, Machu Picchu has become an iconic archaeological site, inspiring researchers and visitors alike. Its history and function, however, are unclear and hypotheses have been advanced ranging from Machu Picchu as a royal estate, sacred shrine, or city. Here we present the preliminary results of our genomic study of human burials...
Precolumbian Tuberculosis in the Chachapoya from the Northeastern Peruvian Andes (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The application of molecular methods to paleopathology has revealed a strain of tuberculosis (TB) closely related to a variety currently adapted to seals and sea lions that caused human infection in the western Andes of prehispanic South America. Our understanding of ancient TB distribution in terms of geography and genetic diversity is, however, limited since...
The Prehistoric Diet: Genomic Analysis of Bonneville Estates Paleofeces, Nevada (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The genetic composition of paleofeces from Bonneville Estates Rockshelter (BER) can aid environmental and dietary reconstruction, as the genomic content of coprolites change as environmental conditions shifted from cool and moist in the Pleistocene to hot and dry in the Holocene and as new food sources appeared locally. In order to analyse the potential shift...
Prehistoric Mobility and Population Movements in Palau: New Data from aDNA and Stable Isotope (Sr, Pb) Analysis (2015)
Ongoing research at the Chelechol ra Orrak rockshelter in Palau, Micronesia, has revealed the presence of one of the oldest (ca. 3000-1700 BP) and most demographically diverse cemeteries in the Pacific. Archaeological excavation of only a small portion of the site indicates that dozens of individuals were buried here for more than a millennia. Subsequent osteological analysis coupled with recent attempts to extract ancient DNA and stable isotopes (Sr and Pb) have shed new light on genetic...
Prehistoric Population Mobility in the Caribbean: Genetic and Isotopic Investigations at Grand Bay, Carriacou, West Indies (2015)
Archaeological research at Grand Bay, a large Late Ceramic Age (ca. AD 400-1300) Amerindian village site on Carriacou in the southern Caribbean, has revealed vast amounts of evidence that sheds light on Pre-Columbian adaptations to small island environments. More than a decade of research here and at other locations on Carriacou have revealed dozens of human burials, including many found in mortuary contexts rarely seen in this part of the Lesser Antilles. Ongoing research on past lifeways of...
Preliminary ancient DNA analysis suggests a complex origins scenario for pre-contact Puerto Rican populations (2016)
Recent archaeological research suggests that indigenous groups in Puerto Rico stemmed from multiple and continuous migrations of continental indigenous populations. This view is supported by contemporary genetic studies, which have found evidence of genetic affinity between multiple modern Native American groups and the native ancestry components of modern, admixed Puerto Ricans. Overall, these findings challenge the traditional single-migration model for the peopling of Puerto Rico, and suggest...
Presence of the Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Complex (MTBC) in ancient skeletal samples from Ukraine (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. This research aims to investigate biocultural interactions by studying ancient disease among the Tripolye, a Neolithic group dating to 4,900-2,900 calBC, and one of the first agricultural populations in Eastern Europe. The Tripolye lived at higher population densities and had closer contact with bovines than the hunter-gatherers that came before...
Prospects for the Recovery of aDNA from Asphaltic Faunal Remains (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Asphaltic deposits are a valuable source of well-preserved faunal assemblages; however, DNA extraction from such deposits has remained problematic. Harsh chemical treatments and boiling are generally used to remove asphalt from faunal material in these contexts as it does not damage the morphology; however, it may impact biomolecule preservation....
Putting Heads Together: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Museum Archaeology of the National Tsantsa Collection at the Pumapungo Museum, Cuenca (2018)
There are many collections of Tsantsas around the world. These shrunken heads were created by the Shuar and Achuar peoples of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian amazon until the mid-20th century. Though most of these museum collections have a known provenience, the individual histories and the authenticity of some of the heads has been contested. Similar questions have risen for Tsantsas held at the Pumapungo Ethnographic museum in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. Using the approach of museum...
Reconstruction of Genetic Diversity prior to Recolonization of Nearly Extinct Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex) using Ancient DNA (2017)
Human activity has driven several mammal species close to extinction. The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) suffered a severe bottleneck during the 19th century, when overhunting and habitat loss resulted in less than a hundred individuals surviving in the Italian Alps. Since then, the Alpine ibex has been successfully reintroduced across the Alpine ridge. Genetic analyses reveal a low genetic diversity in all extant populations, a common phenomenon in species that have gone through a recent bottleneck....