Preservation of DNA in ancient Egyptian mummies

The presence of DNA has been demonstrated in the cell nuclei of an ancient Egyptian mummy fragment. When extracted, this DNA proved to be degraded to a considerable extent and chemically modified. However, the preservation of nucleic acids in this specimen suggests that applying recombinant DNA techniques to the study of ancient mummified tissues might prove to be a fruitful future area of research.     

Recovery and analysis of human genetic material from mummified tissue and bone

Using sensitive techniques of molecular biology, we have been able to demonstrate the presence of genomic material of human origin in samples of mummified human tissue and bone from selected archaeological sites in Greenland. This result has far-reaching consequences for both evolutionary and archaeological studies of past human populations.     

An Approach to the Diagnosis of Craniofacial Fibrous Dysplasia from the 2500‐Year‐Old Remains of a Skull from Ancient China

A human skull, buried about 2500 years ago in a Bronze Age cemetery at Jinggouzi, a site of an important ethnic group in ancient China, appeared to have characteristics of fibrous dysplasia. The CT images indicated a reduction in bone density and relatively homogeneous lesions. More features were revealed using CT reconstruction techniques. Lesions seen in low‐magnification images using a 3D deep‐field microscope had an irregular honeycomb‐like structure. At higher magnification, the trabeculae morphology and the gaps between the trabeculae were irregular and varied in size and shape. Paraffin‐embedded specimens stained with HE showed trabeculae with tortuous irregular arrangements varying in shape and width. The irregular trabeculae of woven bone has been described as having fibrous dysplasia. Molecular analysis of the GNAS gene indicated no mutation. This provides a non‐invasive approach for us to make more comprehensive diagnoses and to assist research into ancient human diseases.     

Ancient Microbial DNA in Dental Calculus: A New method for Studying Rapid Human Migration Events

Ancient human migrations provide the critical genetic background to historical and contemporary human demographic patterns. However, our ability to infer past human migration events, especially those that occurred over rapid timescales, is often limited. A key example is the peopling of Polynesia, where the timing is relatively well defined, but the exact routes taken during the final stages and the source populations are not. Here, we discuss the technical limitations of current methods for inferring rapid human migration events, using the final stages of Polynesian migration as an example. We also introduce a promising new proxy method to infer human migrations—patterns of bacterial evolution within ancient dental calculus (calcified plaque). While we focus on Polynesia, this method should be applicable to other past migrations, enhancing our understanding of human prehistory and revealing the crucial events that shaped it.     

The survival of PCR-amplifiable DNA in cow leather

We have investigated the survival of PCR-amplifiable mitochondrial and nuclear DNA in a small number of modern and medieval bovine leather samples. The results of this preliminary investigation demonstrate that, while no nuclear DNA can be PCR-amplified from any of the specimens, mitochondrial DNA can be amplified from all samples. To investigate this contrasting pattern of DNA survival further, we have vegetable-tanned cow skin in our own laboratory, and directly assayed the survival of PCR-amplifiable mitochondrial and nuclear DNA at each step of the process. The results indicate that nuclear DNA is reduced to sub-amplifiable levels as a result of the tanning baths, whereas amplifiable mitochondrial DNA survives the complete process. Our results suggest that old and archaeological bovine leather may represent a useful source of genetic information, although this information will most likely be limited to that which can be gained from mitochondrial DNA.     

The inclusion record of fluid evolution,crack healing and trapping from a heterogeneous system during rapid cooling of pegmatitic veins (Dronning Maud Land; Antarctica)

Granitoid (pegmatite and aplite) veins in metamorphic rocks and intrusive syenites of central Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, are flanked by conspicuous light‐coloured alteration halos, which represent the damage zone of fracture propagation. The damage zone is characterized by a high density of sealed or healed microcracks, about 1 order of magnitude above background. Fluid inclusions along healed microcracks in quartz of both pegmatite and alteration halos are inspected by optical and scanning electron microscopy, and their composition is analysed by microthermometry and quadrupole mass spectrometry. The similar inclusion record in the granitoid vein and in the damaged host rock indicates the derivation of the fluids from the hydrous melt phase. The aqueous inclusions bear abundant daughter crystals, mainly silicates, and may represent a hydrous melt. The volatile composition is variable in the system H₂O–CO₂, with mostly subordinate amounts of N₂. Phase separation with partitioning of CO₂ into the fluid phase coexisting with the hydrous melt, and possibly immiscibility in the subsolidus range, govern fluid evolution during cooling. The variable CO₂/N₂ ratio suggests mixing with fluids from an external source in the host rock and vigorous circulation at an early stage of high transient permeability. Experiments have shown that healing of microcracks at high temperatures is a matter of hours to weeks, hence similar in time scale to the cooling of the cm‐ to dm‐thick granitoid veins. In this case, rapid cooling and concomitant crack healing in a system undergoing phase separation causes a broad compositional variability of the inclusions due to necking down, and the underpressure developing in closed compartments precludes a meaningful thermobarometric interpretation.     

Are Teeth Better? Histological Characterization of Diagenesis in Archaeological Bone–Tooth Pairs and a Discussion of the Consequences for Archaeometric Sample Selection and Analyses

Teeth are often the preferred source material for isotopic and genetic assay involving ancient biomolecules. The assumption is that dental tissue preserves better due to its anatomically protected location, the enamel cap, and lower porosity compared to bone. However, this assumption has not been widely tested. Some similarities in diagenetic processes are to be expected due to similarities in structure and chemical composition of dentine and bone. This has led to the suggestion that bone can be used as an indicator of dental preservation, as a pre‐screening technique in the selection of suitable samples for biomolecular studies. Thus, direct testing of the correlation between bone and tooth preservation and diagenesis is needed. This paper reports the results of the histological characterization of diagenetic alterations within 25 human femur–tooth pairs, from a Medieval to modern (AD 1850) cemetery in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The results showed that teeth do indeed preserve better overall, but not always, and that this was dependent on the main diagenetic factor(s) at the burial location. Furthermore, good correlations are found between the microstructural preservation of bone and teeth; similar processes of decay were observed within bone and teeth of the same individual. Overall, the study demonstrated that histological analysis of bone is useful for the identification of degradation processes that affect biomolecular preservation in skeletal material. In this way, sample selection and analytical strategies can be optimized. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the Trail of the Oldest Domestic Cat in Poland. An Insight from Morphometry,Ancient DNA and Radiocarbon Dating

It is believed on the basis of archaeozoological research that the domestic cat appeared in Central Europe during the Roman Period. In Poland, the domestic cat is a common species in medieval deposits. Only a few finds of cat remains of pre‐medieval age have been reported from Poland to date, including several specimens from deposits older than the Roman Period, dated to the pre‐Roman Period and even the Bronze Age. To clarify the earliest history of the domestic cat in Poland, the paper presents a review of the available published cat remains and adds some data about newly discovered remains. Combined methods of morphometry and ancient DNA were applied to enable distinction of wildcats and domestic cats. The domestic cat remains were radiocarbon dated. In six cases of domesticated cat reported in the literature, five were positively taxonomically verified, both by morphology and by genetic analysis, and one was recognised as a European wildcat. According to radiocarbon chronology, the oldest studied find is dated to the fourth–third century bc and represents a wildcat. Only two individuals of domestic cat – skeletons from Łojewo and Sławsko Wielkie, both from Kuyavia region (central‐northern Poland) – represent the Roman Period (first–third century ad ), and they are the oldest confirmed domestic cats in Poland. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2015尼泊尔地震后加德满都谷地世界文化遗产破坏特征

2015尼泊尔地震对加德满都谷地的世界文化遗产造成不可估量的损失。为了探究谷地文化遗产震害整体分布特征,对谷地世界文化遗产建筑的震害状况开展实地调查,划分了三类文化遗产震害等级标准,形成了六处世界文化遗产的震害图并对其进行统计分析,加德满都、帕坦和巴德岗三处杜巴广场震后保存基本完好的文化遗产建筑占各自总数的39.5%、53.3%、50%,斯瓦扬布纳特寺、昌谷纳拉扬寺和博达哈大佛塔主体保存基本完好,附属建筑不同程度地破坏。加德满都、帕坦和巴德岗三处杜巴广场地层的松软沉积层放大地震效应使建筑严重破坏,斯瓦扬布纳特寺、昌谷纳拉扬寺震害主要受地形特征影响。考察成果为我国同类遗产建筑的抗震防护提供参考。