FACT SHEET — Ancient DNA (aDNA): What is it? Why is it important? (original) (raw)
Ancestral DNA ― an incontestable source of data for Archaeology
2016
The DNA is present in every cell of a person’s body, not only in the cell’s nucleus but also in its cytoplasm, in mitochondria. Of great importance is the fact that, except for the rare occurrence of a mutation, the DNA in every cell of the person’s body is identical. As a result, DNA can be taken from saliva, sweat, blood, hair, skin or bone cells for individual identification. The many opportunities to obtain DNA evidence can be seen, for example, in the number of places where saliva has been identified: a bite mark, an area licked, bed linens, a mask worn, paper tissue, a washcloth, a cigarette butt, a toothpick, the rim of a bottle or glass, but all of those sources are available just for present DNA. In the case of old DNA, also called ancient DNA (aDNA), the things are different and the possibilities to analyse the substrate of genetic information are limited to bone fragments or teeth. Even in these conditions, the DNA analysis is a very accurate and powerful tool for getting...
Nature Reviews Methods Primers, 2021
Although the first ancient DNA molecules were extracted more than three decades ago, the first ancient nuclear genomes could only be characterized after high-throughput sequencing was invented. Genome-scale data have now been gathered from thousands of ancient archaeological specimens, and the number of ancient biological tissues amenable to genome sequencing is growing steadily. Ancient DNA fragments are typically ultrashort molecules and carry extensive amounts of chemical damage accumulated after death. Their extraction, manipulation and authentication require specific experimental wet-laboratory and dry-laboratory procedures before patterns of genetic variation from past individuals, populations and species can be interpreted. Ancient DNA data help to address an entire array of questions in anthropology, evolutionary biology and the environmental and archaeological sciences. The data have revealed a considerably more dynamic past than previously appreciated and have revolutionized our understanding of many major prehistoric and historic events. This Primer provides an overview of concepts and state-of-the-art methods underlying ancient DNA analysis and illustrates the diversity of resulting applications. The article also addresses some of the ethical challenges associated with the destructive analysis of irreplaceable material, emphasizes the need to fully involve archaeologists and stakeholders as part of the research design and analytical process, and discusses future perspectives.
Critical Perspectives on Ancient DNA: Concluding Commentary
A great deal of ink has been spilled over the prob lems exhibited by researchers attempting to incorporate ancient DNA (aDNA) data into anthropological models of prehistory. The prob lems are both ethical and interpretive. Several of the chapters in this volume have compellingly and comprehensively discussed the ethical violations abundantly seen in aDNA research. They show that since there continue to be significant professional rewards for rapid and sensational publication-a phenomenon explored in detail in Andreas Nyblom's chapter on the fuss surrounding the "the female Viking warrior"-and few professional consequences for riding roughshod over ethical standards and the concerns of descendant and stakeholder communities, researchers will continue to make their own culture-bound value judgments. The research community itself must decide whether the ethical requirements of engaging in aDNA research should have teeth, by whom those teeth should be wielded, and what kinds of wounds those teeth should inflict. I want to thank the editors of this volume for the opportunity to provide this commentary. I will use the space available to me to discuss two phenomena related to anthropological aDNA research: one relevant to the community of scholars interested in molecular approaches to the past, and one relevant to both public understandings of the kinds of research discussed in this book and to the ways in which scholars untrained in ge ne tics understand the data generated. First, however, I would like to be explicit about my positionality in this space, because the peculiarities of my academic background significantly shape my views on the current state of affairs. I am a molecular anthropologist trained in the four-field Americanist tradition, in which the subdisciplines of biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and sociocultural anthropology sit together under the umbrella of anthropology. I was trained in this way first in my home country of Aotearoa New Zealand,
Ancient DNA: a multifunctional tool for resolving anthropological questions
2015
En aquesta tesis hem analitzat diferents questions antropologiques usant l'ADN de poblacions antigues de Catalunya i Balears. Primer, hem intentat millorar la nostra metodologia aplicant un protocol diferent en l'estudi d'un jaciment que inesperadament havia proporcionat resultats escassos. Hem vist que sota algunes circumstancies el canvi del nostre protocol usant fenol-cloroform pel del kit QIAamp DNA investigator que usa l'afinitat de les particules de silica es positiu i millora significativament els resultats, encara que sembla que el metode optim pot variar en cada cas i que s'hauria de fer una valoracio especifica per decidir el protocol mes adequat. Seguidament, hem volgut anar fer l'analisi de les relacions intrapoblacionals en grups enterrats en comu per a examinar el paper de les families nuclears en l'antiguitat. Vam examinar una cova sepulcral amb multiples individus de Catalunya de finals de l'Edat del Bronze, i vam comprovar que la hipo...
The Trouble with Ancient DNA, 2025
A thoughtful consideration of the storytelling and science behind ancient DNA discoveries. In recent years, discoveries brought to light through analysis of ancient DNA—or aDNA—have made headlines around the world. While ancient DNA studies may appear to focus on laboratory science and objective results, the findings have also relied heavily on storytelling and can be influenced by political interests. In The Trouble with Ancient DNA, Anna Källén explores how the parameters of genetic science influence the stories we tell about our ancient ancestors, questioning what narratives we can and should take at face value. Through accounts of migrations, warriors, and figures like Cheddar Man, we see enticing and potent narratives that reach far beyond what can be gathered from the scientific study of molecules alone. Rather, by privileging certain narratives and questions—like those about sex or eye and skin color—our stories of ancient DNA are spun around the structure of today’s methodologies, technologies, and popular and political interests. Källén considers how DNA is used to sensationalize stories, how its use poses questions of ethics and care, and who is responsible if stories of ancient DNA are adopted for dangerous political projects.
The Bulletin of Legal Medicine, 2014
Genetic information discovered, characterized for and used in forensic case-works and anthropology has shown to be also highly useful and relevant in investigating human remains from archaeological findings. By technical means, forensic and aDNA (ancient Deoxyribonucleic acid) analyses are well suited to be done using the same laboratory infrastructures and scientific expertise referring to sampling, sample protection, sample processing, contamination control as well as requiring analogous technical know how and knowledge on reading and interpreting DNA encoded information. Forensic genetics has significantly profited from aDNA-related developments (and vice versa, of course!), especially, when it comes to the identification of unknown human remains referring to the detection limit. Additionally the tremendous developments of analyzing chemistry and kits as well as instruments in forensics opened the whole panel of reading human and nonhuman DNA for historians and archaeologists but also for anthropologists. Ancient DNA / molecular archaeology, however, is not limited to the comparatively restrictive set of information as usually employed in forensic case work analyses but can also be applied to phenotypical markers, ethno-related genotypes or pathological features. In this review the authors give a general overview on the field of ancient DNA analysis focussing of the
Ancient DNA and biological anthropology: believers vs. skeptics
2007
The first-ever published paper on ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis (published in China) reported on DNA extraction from an ancient human mummy. A few years later, the first paper on human remains published in the West, also reported on the extraction and analysis of DNA from a human mummy. Since then, the potential of ancient DNA analysis in anthropological studies has been widely acknowledged. However, the contamination/authenticity problem, which Montiel, R. et al. 2 affects the entire aDNA field, is particularly acute in human studies, and hampers the full development of this discipline. For some researchers, this problem makes the study of ancient human populations unfeasible and/or impractical. On the other hand, aDNA studies of human populations are published every year, reflecting the deep interest that anthropologists and archaeologists have in the unique genetic information that can be directly retrieved by studying them. Thus, the general application of aDNA techniques to the study of human populations is a contentious issue, and the question remains open as to what extent following the stringent criteria suggested by Cooper and Poinar is useful in the authentication of ancient human DNA sequences. In practice, the complete set of suggested controls is rarely followed in human studies, and even when applied carefully these criteria may not be sufficient to guarantee authenticity. Furthermore, some authors are proposing flexibility and the intelligent use of these authenticity criteria in order to avoid the "checklist" approach, which can result in the publication of non-authentic results and in rejection of some interesting and probably authentic ones. On the other hand, although there have been several papers recommending appropriate experimental designs for ancient DNA studies, there have been few attempts at statistical analysis to establish the confidence of the results obtained. In our view, ancient DNA recovery and analysis from human populations requires a specific frame and set of controls that in a costeffective way allows anthropologically relevant information which may be considered authentic within certain confidence limits to be retrieved from ancient human populations.
The Gap between Ideal and Actual Practice in Ancient DNA Research
This article explores how the competitive quest for bone samples used in genomic analyses of ancient DNA (aDNA) creates a pressing concern for anthropological research. It investigates the premises and effects of this phenomenon-a global hunt for petrous bones as treasured sources of DNA resembling a gold fever-from the situated perspectives of archaeologists and curators of ancient human remains. We present findings from an anonymous questionnaire involving 60 archaeologists and curators from major museums and research projects across the world, complemented with 16 semistructured interviews, providing a unique empirical basis to analyze professional relations and structural issues in this expansive sector of anthropology. Through a thematic analysis, we discuss how industrial-scale ambitions and competition among large laboratories promote colonial attitudes and the hoarding of samples. Comparing our results with recent discussions within the field, we identify a gap between the ideal practices advocated by researchers invested in archaeogenomic research and the actual practices of aDNA research fostered by the tangled incentives of high-impact publications and research grants. This gap between ideal and actual practices unveils a fundamentally asymmetrical academic landscape that engenders conflict and ethical dilemmas.