title: Identification of a new hominin bone from Denisova Cave, Siberia using collagen fingerprinting and mitochondrial DNA analysis.
abstract: DNA sequencing has revolutionised our understanding of archaic humans during the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. Unfortunately, while many Palaeolithic sites contain large numbers of bones, the majority of these lack the diagnostic features necessary for traditional morphological identification. As a result the recovery of Pleistocene-age human remains is extremely rare. To circumvent this problem we have applied a method of collagen fingerprinting to more than 2000 fragmented bones from the site of Denisova Cave, Russia, in order to facilitate the discovery of human remains. As a result of our analysis a single hominin bone (Denisova 11) was identified, supported through in-depth peptide sequencing analysis, and found to carry mitochondrial DNA of the Neandertal type. Subsequent radiocarbon dating revealed the bone to be >50,000 years old. Here we demonstrate the huge potential collagen fingerprinting has for identifying hominin remains in highly fragmentary archaeological assemblages, improving the resources available for wider studies into human evolution.
authors.affiliation: RLAHA, University of Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: RLAHA, University of Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Higham
authors.affiliation: MPI-EVA, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors.forename: Viviane
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Slon
authors.affiliation: MPI-EVA, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors.forename: Svante
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pääbo
authors.affiliation: MPI-EVA, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: RLAHA, University of Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Douka
authors.affiliation: Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University, SN6 8LA, UK.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brock
authors.affiliation: RLAHA, University of Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Comeskey
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
authors.forename: Noemi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Procopio
authors.affiliation: Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shunkov
authors.affiliation: Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia.
authors.forename: Anatoly
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Derevianko
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buckley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism*; D003094:Collagen / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D004317:Doxorubicin; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005580:Fossils; D015186:Hominidae; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D011034:Podophyllotoxin; D055110:Radiometric Dating; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012800:Siberia; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D013997:Time Factors; D014750:Vincristine
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D014750:Vincristine; D004317:Doxorubicin; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D003094:Collagen; D011034:Podophyllotoxin