Ancient Environmental DNA from Meadowcroft Rockshelter

Summary

This is an abstract from the "2025 Fryxell Award Symposium: Papers in Honor of David J. Meltzer Part II" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Meadowcroft Rockshelter, located near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a significant archaeological site excavated by James Adovasio and his team from 1973 to 1978. The site contains stratified layers of artifacts and charcoal dating from the Historic period back to approximately 17,300 years ago, suggesting early human occupation during a time when the nearby Laurentide ice sheet would have created near-glacial conditions. Despite this, evidence from the site indicates a temperate environment, leading to debates about the accuracy of the radiocarbon dates, particularly due to potential contamination from nearby coal deposits. Critics have questioned the validity of these dates, leaving the site’s evidence largely unresolved and Meadowcroft in archaeological limbo. Over the past decade, ancient environmental DNA (aeDNA) has been shown to preserve in sediment even in the absence of fossils and for longer periods of time. Given the sparse organic remains, studying aeDNA at Meadowcroft could provide crucial insights. Here, I present preliminary test data from aeDNA samples taken from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the Meadowcroft Rockshelter stratigraphy. We ask is ancient DNA is preserved, what organisms were present, and explore what this can reveal about the peopling of America?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2025 Fryxell Award Symposium: Papers in Honor of David J. Meltzer Part II   •
• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51354