Biomolecular archaeology

Mitochondrial DNA haplotypes of Devensian hyaenas from Creswell Crags, England

by Danae Dodge

Dodge, D.R., Bouwman, A., Pettitt, P.B., Brown, T., Mitochondrial DNA haplotypes of Devensian hyaenas from Creswell Crags, England. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences DOI: 10.1007/s12520-012-0096-1

Spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) remains have been recovered from British Middle and Upper Pleistocene sites at... more Spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) remains have been recovered from British Middle and Upper Pleistocene sites at intervals within the period 700–730 ka BP. Morphological studies have suggested that hyaenas of the Last Interglacial sensu stricto (Ipswichian: Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 5e, 130–115 ka BP) and Last Glacial (Devensian: MIS 3, 61–24 ka BP) were two distinct populations, the Ipswichian hyaenas becoming extinct in Britain during MIS 5 and the Devensian ones arriving via a subsequent migration from continental Europe. However, the apparent presence of hyaenas in later MIS 5 deposits has led to the alternative suggestion that there was a southern relict population from which the Devensian hyaenas originated.
We obtained ancient DNA (aDNA) sequences from four Devensian hyaena specimens from Creswell Crags, Derbyshire, dated to around 45 ka 14C BP. Each of these four specimens belonged to the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) clade A. This clade is not thought to have been present in Europe until ~360 ka BP, after the initial arrival of hyaenas in Britain. The DNA results, therefore, suggest that there were at least two waves of hyaena dispersals into Britain. The results are consistent with the repeated dispersals into Britain of another Pleistocene social carnivore, Homo sapiens.

Population migration, variation and identity: an Islamic population in Iberia

by Sonia Zakrzewski

Isotopic palaeodiet studies of ancient Egyptian fauna and humans

by Sonia Zakrzewski

Nitrogen isotope analyses of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), 45,000 BP to 9,000 BP: Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions

by Rhiannon Stevens

A Molecular Approach to the Neanderthal Extinction: The Applicability of a Bayesian Programme to the Analysis of the Neanderthal Volume 2

by Danae Dodge

Thesis Volume 2: Texts, Figures and Supplementary Information

A Molecular Approach to the Neanderthal Extinction: The Applicability of a Bayesian Programme to the Analysis of the Neanderthal Volume 1

by Danae Dodge

Volume 1: Thesis Text

It is unknown as to the extent that the arrival of modern humans into Europe (~ 40-30 kyr BP), or the unstable climate... more It is unknown as to the extent that the arrival of modern humans into Europe (~ 40-30 kyr BP), or the unstable climate throughout Marine Isotope Stage 3 leading up to the Last Glacial Maximum led to Neanderthal extinction at ~30 kyr BP. However it is possible to determine this by reconstructing a model of evolution for the Neanderthals thus illustrating how their demography changes alongside a chronology.
Deducing this model of evolution can be achieved by inputting genetic data into the Bayesian programme BEAST (Bayesian Evolutionary Analysis of Sampling Trees), which has been previously used on North American bison. However it is necessary to input a sufficient amount of genetic data into the programme. For the Neanderthals though, the genetic data is limited quantitatively and qualitatively. The aim of this study is thus to assess the feasibility for obtaining a Neanderthal model of evolution.
In order to do this, the minimum quantitative requirements needed to yield a valid model of evolution were determined through analysis of the bison genetic data. In addition to this, Devensian spotted hyaena genetic data was added to the European hyaena genetic dataset. Being used as a proxy for the Neanderthals (due to possible shared sympatry), reconstruction of the hyaena evolutionary model could reveal similar trends between hyaenas and Neanderthals, thus providing insight into Neanderthal demographic changes. Additionally two hypothetical Neanderthal genetic datasets were simulated under two different demographic models. Portions of this data were analysed to determine if the demographic models could be recovered thus assessing if it is feasible to recover a Neanderthal demographic model given the current limitations of the genetic data.
The results here highlighted four key areas central to the feasibility of obtaining evolutionary models; archaeological considerations, importance of sampling, Bayesian considerations and the use of animal proxies. These key areas were then applied to the Neanderthals thus providing an assessment for the feasibility of obtaining a Neanderthal model of evolution.

Reality lags behind rhetoric in building interdisciplinary work

by Danae Dodge

A Molecular Approach to Neanderthal Extinction

by Danae Dodge

Published in Quaternary International 2012
Special Edition Middle to Upper Paleolithic biological and cultural shift in Eurasia

The Neanderthal extinction approximately 30 ka BP has been a contentious issue in archaeology, where the role of the... more The Neanderthal extinction approximately 30 ka BP has been a contentious issue in archaeology, where the role of the deteriorating climate and/or the arrival of modern humans (from 40 ka BP) could have played a part. By reconstructing the evolutionary and demographic model alongside a palaeo-climatic chronology, this can allow the changing demography over time to be observed, in order to view how the Neanderthals responded to their environment. Such changes in the demography can then be linked to either a significant change in the deterioration of the climate or the arrival of modern humans. This could then allow for the initial trigger behind the Neanderthal extinction to be identified.
One way to reconstruct the evolutionary/demographic model is through the use of a Bayesian based software programme known as BEAST (Bayesian Evolutionary Analysis of Sampling Trees). An evolutionary/demographic model has been reconstructed for North American bison (Bison cf. priscus) whereby their decline in population growth was associated with the climate instead of overhunting by modern humans.

The long term goal of this study is to reconstruct the Neanderthal evolutionary/demographic model in order to answer the question of the factors behind the Neanderthal extinction. However, as the Neanderthal genetic data is currently limited, the aim of this study is to identify the more practical issues behind the construction of an evolutionary model and then apply this to the Neanderthal dataset. This shall be done by analyses of a bison genetic dataset in BEAST. The results outline the practical issues affecting the potential reconstruction of the Neanderthal evolutionary/demographic model.

Biomolecular and micromorphological analysis of suspected faecal deposits at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey

by Lisa-Marie Shillito

Shillito, L-M. et al. 2011 Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 1869-1877

10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.031 10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.031

Evaluation of microwave-assisted enzymatic digestion and tandem mass spectrometry for the identification of protein residues from an inorganic solid matrix: implications in archaeological research

by Steve Wolverton

Stevens et al. 2010

A method based on microwave-assisted enzymatic digestion and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analysis... more A method based on microwave-assisted enzymatic digestion and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analysis is presented for the identification of proteins incorporated within solid matrices using protein standards bound to experimental cooking pottery as a validation model. The implementation of microwave irradiation allowed for a significant decrease in overall analysis time in addition to select enhancement of peptide recovery as determined by label-free relative quantitation. We envision that the reported methodology will provide new avenues for scientific discovery in areas such as archaeology and forensics. Results of this series of experiments are part of an ongoing project directed at developing a comprehensive methodology for extracting proteinaceous residues from archaeological pottery.