Ancient DNA: using molecular biology to explore the past.
Ancient DNA has been discovered in many types of preserved biological material, including bones, mummies, museum skins, insects in amber and plant fossils, and has become an important research tool in disciplines as diverse as archaeology, conservation biology and forensic science. In archaeology, ancient DNA can contribute both to the interpretation of individual sites and to the development of hypotheses about past populations. Site interpretation is aided by DNA-based sex typing of fragmentary human bones, and by the use of genetic techniques to assess the degree of kinship between the remains of different individuals. On a broader scale, population migrations can be traced by studying genetic markers in ancient DNA, as in recent studies of the colonisation of the Pacific islands, while ancient DNA in preserved plant remains can provide information on the development of agriculture.
Department of Biochemistry and Applied Molecular Biology, UMIST, Manchester, UK.
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D000383:Agriculture; D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D005580:Fossils; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D006801:Humans; D007313:Insecta / Q000235:genetics; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009106:Mummies; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics; D012867:Skin / Q000737:chemistry
D005819:Genetic Markers; D004247:DNA