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(2015) Handbook of Paleoanthropology, Dordrecht, Springer.
Ancient DNA research, defined as the retrieval and analysis of DNA sequences from various degraded biological source materials, has promoted many biological and medical research fields during the last three decades. In particular, historical anthropology and paleoanthropology stand to benefit from direct access to back-dating genetic data, as has already been shown through applications ranging from individual identification to reconstruction of kinship and marriage patterns to human phylogeny. The DNA-based prerequisites and basic methodological strategies for access to the various types of information are explained, as well as the characteristics of ancient DNA that limit the different approaches. Major restrictions arise from the degradation of ancient DNA down to fragment sizes of only a few hundred base pairs or less. This fact links ancient DNA analysis to either the PCR technique or to Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) approaches, both of which make it possible to deduce genetic information from degraded nucleic acids. Futhermore, ancient DNA extracts regularly consist of only a few intact target sequences, which may harbor sequence deviations due to the degradation process. Both these factors make the analysis vulnerable to the generation of non-authentic results. These pitfalls of ancient DNA analysis are explained and discussed in detail, with reference to the most recent relevant literature. Wherever available, suggestions for strategies to overcome commonly experienced obstacles in ancient DNA analysis are highlighted and evaluated.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-39979-4_21
Full citation:
Hummel, S. (2015)., Ancient DNA, in W. Henke & I. Tattersall (eds.), Handbook of Paleoanthropology, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 763-790.
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