Primer of the Ancient Mariner: New Perspectives on aDNA Research and the Prehistoric Colonization of Islands

The extraction and amplification of ancient DNA (aDNA) is a relatively new technique that is being increasingly utilized in archaeological research. Not only can aDNA provide a wealth of important information related to the presence and dispersal of ancient humans, animals, and plants, but also disease transmission, domestication of various biota, and long-term ecological relationships on multiple geographic scales. Islands are a particularly interesting setting for aDNA research as their colonization required a number of cultural, technological, and biological developments involving seafaring, exchange systems, and adaptations to new environments. Additionally, the development and use of commensal models using faunal aDNA as a proxy for human movement has proven especially useful in island contexts for exploring questions related to initial colonization and population movements. This session will explore the myriad ways in which human, animal, and plant aDNA is being used to explore such topics in island regions across the globe, as well as how newer sequencing technologies are expanding the range of research questions that geneticists, archaeologists, and other scientists can use to examine the origins and dispersal of modern humans in the ancient past.