Open AccessMicrostratigraphic preservation of ancient faunal and hominin DNA in Pleistocene cave sediments
Author(s) -
Diyendo Massilani,
Mike W. Morley,
Susan M. Mentzer,
Vera Aldeias,
Benjamin Vernot,
Christopher E. Miller,
Mareike Stahlschmidt,
М.Б. Козликин,
M.V. Shunkov,
Anatoly P. Derevianko,
Nicholas J. Conard,
Sarah Wurz,
Christopher S. Henshilwood,
Javi Vasquez,
Elena Essel,
Sarah Nagel,
Julia Richter,
Birgit Nickel,
Richard G. Roberts,
Svante Pääbo,
Viviane Slon,
Paul Goldberg,
Matthias Meyer
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2113666118
Subject(s) - ancient dna , neanderthal , cave , pleistocene , prehistory , paleontology , archaeology , sediment , geology , biology , geography , population , demography , sociology
Significance DNA preserved in sediments has emerged as an important source of information about past ecosystems, independent of the discovery of skeletal remains. However, little is known about the sources of sediment DNA, the factors affecting its long-term preservation, and the extent to which it may be translocated after deposition. Here, we show that impregnated blocks of intact sediment are excellent archives of DNA. DNA distribution is highly heterogeneous at the microscale in the cave sediment we studied, suggesting that postdepositional movement of DNA is unlikely to be a common phenomenon in cases where the stratigraphy is undisturbed. Combining micromorphological analysis with microstratigraphic retrieval of ancient DNA therefore allows genetic information to be associated with the detailed archaeological and ecological record preserved in sediments.