Archaeology meets environmental genomics: implementing sedaDNA in the study of the human past

Kadir Toykan Oezdogan; Pere Gelabert; Neeke Hammers; N. Ezgi Altinisik; Arjen de Groot; Gertjan Plets

doi:10.1007/s12520-024-01999-2

Archaeology meets environmental genomics: implementing sedaDNA in the study of the human past

Kadir Toykan Oezdogan^*, Pere Gelabert, Neeke Hammers, N. Ezgi Altinisik, Arjen de Groot, Gertjan Plets

^*Corresponding author for this work

OGKG - Cultural History

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) has become one of the standard applications in the field of paleogenomics in recent years. It has been used for paleoenvironmental reconstructions, detecting the presence of prehistoric species in the absence of macro remains and even investigating the evolutionary history of a few species. However, its application in archaeology has been limited and primarily focused on humans. This article argues that sedaDNA holds significant potential in addressing key archaeological questions concerning the origins, lifestyles, and environments of past human populations. Our aim is to facilitate the integration of sedaDNA into the standard workflows in archaeology as a transformative tool, thereby unleashing its full potential for studying the human past. Ultimately, we not only underscore the challenges inherent in the sedaDNA field but also provide a research agenda for essential enhancements needed for implementing sedaDNA into the archaeological workflow.

Original language	English
Article number	108
Number of pages	15
Journal	Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
Volume	16
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-01999-2
Publication status	Published - Jul 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Funding

This paper derives from the project \u2018Constructing the Limes: Employing citizen science to understand borders and border systems from the Roman period until today\u2019 (C-Limes), funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) as part of the Dutch Research Agenda. (2021\u20132026, Project number: NWA.1292.19.364). Pere Gelabert was funded by FWF under project P\u201336433: \u201CSocial genomics in Late Antique and Early-Medieval Societies\u201D\u2019. N. Ezgi Alt\u0131n\u0131\u015F\u0131k was funded by T\u00DCB\u0130TAK Project No: 121Z485.

Funders	Funder number
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
C-Limes
Dutch Research Agenda	NWA.1292.19.364
Austrian Science Fund	P–36433
Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu	121Z485

Keywords

Ancient DNA
Ancient metagenomics
Archaeogenomics
Bioarchaeology
Environmental archaeology
sedaDNA

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10.1007/s12520-024-01999-2Licence: CC BY

s12520-024-01999-2Final published version, 1.5 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Archaeology meets environmental genomics: implementing sedaDNA in the study of the human past",

abstract = "Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) has become one of the standard applications in the field of paleogenomics in recent years. It has been used for paleoenvironmental reconstructions, detecting the presence of prehistoric species in the absence of macro remains and even investigating the evolutionary history of a few species. However, its application in archaeology has been limited and primarily focused on humans. This article argues that sedaDNA holds significant potential in addressing key archaeological questions concerning the origins, lifestyles, and environments of past human populations. Our aim is to facilitate the integration of sedaDNA into the standard workflows in archaeology as a transformative tool, thereby unleashing its full potential for studying the human past. Ultimately, we not only underscore the challenges inherent in the sedaDNA field but also provide a research agenda for essential enhancements needed for implementing sedaDNA into the archaeological workflow.",

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AU - Hammers, Neeke

AU - Altinisik, N. Ezgi

AU - de Groot, Arjen

AU - Plets, Gertjan

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.

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Archaeology meets environmental genomics: implementing sedaDNA in the study of the human past

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

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