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86-591: A 2019 genetic study found that the remains of two young male humans discovered at the site, dating to c.  31.6 ka BP , represent a distinct archaeogenetic lineage , named Ancient North Siberians (ANS). The Yana RHS site is preceded in Siberia by a few Initial Upper Paleolithic archaeological sites such as Ust-Ischim (with modern human remains, 45,000 years BP), or Kara-Bom (dating to 46,620 +/-1,750 cal years BP), Kara-Tenesh, Kandabaevo, and Podzvonskaya. In 1993, Russian geologist Mikhail Dashtzeren found

172-403: A lithic flake is a "portion of rock removed from an objective piece by percussion or pressure," and may also be referred to as simply a flake , or collectively as debitage . The objective piece, or the rock being reduced by the removal of flakes, is known as a core . Once the proper tool stone has been selected, a percussor or pressure flaker (e.g., an antler tine ) is used to direct

258-431: A basic laboratory setup and chemicals. It is also independent of sample size, as the process can be scaled to accommodate larger or smaller quantities. Another benefit is that the process can be executed at room temperature. However, this method does contain some drawbacks. Mainly, silica-based DNA extraction can only be applied to bone and teeth samples; they cannot be used on soft tissue . While they work well with

344-545: A closely related extant species can be used to estimate the divergence time of those two species from their last common ancestor . The phylogeny of some extinct species, such as Australian marsupial wolves and American ground sloths , has been constructed by this method. Mitochondrial DNA in animals and chloroplast DNA in plants are usually used for this purpose because they have hundreds of copies per cell and thus are more easily accessible in ancient fossils. Another method to investigate relationship between two species

430-426: A core or previously formed Hertzian cones on the surface. Eraillures , also referred to as "bulbar scars", are tiny flake scars that appear on some bulbs of applied force. The reason they form is not entirely understood. Of those flakes that do exhibit eraillures, very few have more than one. Secondary and tertiary flakes display dorsal flake scars, which are simply the markings left behind by flakes detached prior to

516-477: A date of over 300 kya. Examination of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome DNA, and X-chromosome DNA indicate that the earliest population to leave Africa consisted of approximately 1500 males and females. It has been suggested by various studies that populations were geographically “structured” to some degree prior to the expansion out of Africa; this is suggested by the antiquity of shared mtDNA lineages. One study of 121 populations from various places throughout

602-491: A flake with no Hertzian cone or bulb of applied force and few if any of the characteristics ripples or undulations seen on the ventral surface of conchoidally produced flakes. Wedging initiation is the result of a strong hammer blow. At impact, concentric radii emanate from the point of percussion, but unlike conchoidal fracture, the force travels along what would be the center of the Hertzian cone. The bipolar reduction technique

688-471: A foreshaft of a spear made from the horn of a woolly rhinoceros in the Yana Valley. The discovery was made following thawing and erosion, which exposed numerous artifacts and animal bones near the site. Following this discovery, guided by Dashtzeren, an Upper Paleolithic site now known as Yana RHS was found in 2001 by archaeologist Vladimir Pitulko and colleagues. Excavations began in 2002. The Yana RHS

774-417: A hard hammer percussor ( hammerstone ) was used to detach the flake; flakes displaying this characteristic are referred to as conchoidal flakes. Hard hammer flakes are indicative of primary reduction strategies (e.g., core reduction, roughing of blanks and preforms , and the like). More moderate and diffuse bulbs may indicate the use of a soft hammer percussor—such as bone , wood , or antler —which produces

860-498: A location now known as 'Yana Mass Accumulation of Mammoth' (YMAM), containing around 1,000 mammoth bones representing at least 26 individuals, and grouped according to type. At the YMAM locality, over 95 per cent of the faunal remains are mammoth, compared to around 50 per cent at Yana-B and only 3.3 per cent at Northern Point. Recent studies suggest that there is convincing evidence of sporadic mammoth hunting, perhaps every few years, which

946-562: A sample, even when it is highly fragmented and of low concentration. It involves attaching a generic sequence to every single strand that generic primers can bond to, and thus all of the DNA present is amplified. This is generally more costly and time intensive than PCR but due to the difficulties involved in ancient DNA amplification it is cheaper and more efficient. One method of massive parallel sequencing , developed by Margulies et al., employs bead-based emulsion PCR and pyrosequencing , and

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1032-401: A sharp blow, or apply sufficient force, respectively, to the surface of the stone, often on the edge of the piece. The energy of this blow propagates through the material, often ( but not always ) producing a Hertzian cone of force which causes the rock to fracture in a controllable fashion. Since cores are often struck on an edge with a suitable angle (<90°) for flake propagation, the result

1118-608: A similarity in 2.18 and 1.62 bases per 10,000 respectively, suggesting Vi-80 sample was from a male individual. Other similar studies include finding of a mutation associated with dwarfism in Arabidopsis in ancient Nubian cotton , and investigation on the bitter taste perception locus in Neanderthals. Modern humans are thought to have evolved in Africa at least 200 kya (thousand years ago), with some evidence suggesting

1204-607: A single migratory event between 60 and 70 kya. Genetic evidence shows that occupation of the Near East and Europe happened no earlier than 50 kya. Studying haplogroup U has shown separate dispersals from the Near East both into Europe and into North Africa. Much of the work done in archaeogenetics focuses on the Neolithic transition in Europe. Cavalli-Svorza's analysis of genetic-geographic patterns led him to conclude that there

1290-402: A specimen is collected from an archaeological site, DNA can be extracted through a series of processes. One of the more common methods utilizes silica and takes advantage of polymerase chain reactions in order to collect ancient DNA from bone samples. There are several challenges that add to the difficulty when attempting to extract ancient DNA from fossils and prepare it for analysis. DNA

1376-406: A trace of cortex on the dorsal surface; and tertiary (interior) flakes lack cortex, having derived entirely from the interior of the core. Primary flakes and secondary flakes are usually associated with the initial stages of lithic reduction , while tertiary flakes are more likely to be associated with retouching and bifacial reduction activities. Prominent bulbs of force generally indicate that

1462-493: A trading network for the production and consumption of readily available resources. Archaeogenetics has been used to study the domestication of animals. By analyzing genetic diversity in domesticated animal populations researchers can search for genetic markers in DNA to give valuable insight about possible traits of progenitor species. These traits are then used to help distinguish archaeological remains between wild and domesticated specimens. The genetic studies can also lead to

1548-492: A variety of different fossils, they may be less effective in fossils that are not fresh (e.g. treated fossils for museums ). Also, contamination poses a risk for all DNA replication in general, and this method may result in misleading results if applied to contaminated material. Polymerase chain reaction is a process that can amplify segments of DNA and is often used on extracted ancient DNA. It has three main steps: denaturation , annealing , and extension. Denaturation splits

1634-399: A “pioneer colonization” model of European occupation, with incorporation of foraging populations into arriving Neolithic populations. Furthermore, analysis of ancient DNA, not just extant DNA, is shedding light on some issues. For instance, comparison of neolithic and mesolithic DNA has indicated that the development of dairying preceded widespread lactose tolerance. South Asia has served as

1720-400: Is a characteristic indicating the manner in which the distal end of a flake detached from a core. Flake terminations may be feathered, hinged, stepped, or plunging (also known as overshot or outrepassé ). Feathered terminations are often very sharp, as the flake gradually reduces to a very fine thickness before the force exits the core and removes the flake. Hinged terminations are the result of

1806-471: Is a recent admixture of some Negrito groups with their local populations. Archaeogenetics has been used to better understand the populating of the Americas from Asia. Native American mtDNA haplogroups have been estimated to be between 15 and 20 kya, although there is some variation in these estimates. Genetic data has been used to propose various theories regarding how the Americas were colonized. Although

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1892-403: Is also difficult due to the lack of repeatability caused by the uniqueness of specimens. Silica-based DNA extraction is a method used as a purification step to extract DNA from archaeological bone artifacts and yield DNA that can be amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques. This process works by using silica as a means to bind DNA and separate it from other components of

1978-411: Is continuously being split up. While the organism is alive these splits are repaired; however, once an organism has died, the DNA will begin to deteriorate without repair. This results in samples having strands of DNA measuring around 100 base pairs in length. Contamination is another significant challenge at multiple steps throughout the process. Often other DNA, such as bacterial DNA, will be present in

2064-421: Is difficult because the bone fossilisation degrades and DNA is chemically modified, usually by bacteria and fungi in the soil. The best time to extract DNA from a fossil is when it is freshly out of the ground as it contains six times the DNA when compared to stored bones. The temperature of extraction site also affects the amount of obtainable DNA, evident by a decrease in success rate for DNA amplification if

2150-555: Is especially helpful when the morphology of the fossil is ambiguous. Apart from that, species identification can also be done by finding specific genetic markers in an aDNA sequence. For example, the American indigenous population is characterized by specific mitochondrial RFLPs and deletions defined by Wallace et al. aDNA comparison study can also reveal the evolutionary relationship between two species. The number of base differences between DNA of an ancient species and that of

2236-556: Is genetic evidence that Chad-speaking descendants of Nilo-Saharan speakers migrated from Sudan to Lake Chad about 8 kya. Genetic evidence has also indicated that non-African populations made significant contributions to the African gene pool. For example, the Saharan African Beja people have high levels of Middle-Eastern as well as East African Cushitic DNA. Analysis of mtDNA shows that modern humans occupied Eurasia in

2322-693: Is located on an alluvial terrace near the left bank of the Yana river, north of the Arctic Circle, around 100 km south of the current river mouth. It is situated on the far west of the coastal lowland between the Yana River in the west and the Kolyma River in the east. The site consists of a complex of several roughly contemporaneous locations, separated by tens or hundreds of metres, over an area of more than 3500 square metres. The cultural layer

2408-592: Is native to India. Analysis of mtDNA and NRY (non-recombining region of Y chromosome) sequences have indicated that the first major dispersal out of Africa went through Saudi Arabia and the Indian coast 50–100 kya, and a second major dispersal occurred 15–50 kya north of the Himalayas. Much work has been done to discover the extent of north-to-south and south-to-north migrations within Eastern Asia. Comparing

2494-440: Is perhaps the earliest unambiguous evidence of mammoth hunting by humans. It is likely that obtaining mammoth meat was not the main purpose of mammoth hunting at this site. Instead, mammoths were hunted mainly for ivory and bone to use as building materials, tools, and fuel. It has been suggested that people of Yana RHS selectively hunted adolescent and young adult female mammoths with tusks of a particular size and shape, facilitating

2580-464: Is retained to a significant extent at three of these locations (Northern Point, Yana B, and Tums1). Three other locations (Upstream Point, ASN, and Southern Point) only yield surface finds. At an additional location, now known as 'Yana Mass Accumulation of Mammoth' (YMAM), a large number of mammoth remains, comprising over 1,000 mammoth bones, was discovered in 2008 by ivory hunters. The site has been radiocarbon dated to approximately 32,000 cal BP, before

2666-468: Is that it requires overlapping primer pairs for ancient DNA due to the short sequences. There can also be “jumping PCR” which causes recombination during the PCR process which can make analyzing the DNA more difficult in inhomogeneous samples. DNA extracted from fossil remains is primarily sequenced using Massive parallel sequencing , which allows simultaneous amplification and sequencing of all DNA segments in

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2752-446: Is that only a portion of the Hertzian cone is created. The process continues as the flintknapper detaches the desired number of flakes from the core, which is marked with the negative scars of these removals. The surface area of the core which received the blows necessary for detaching the flakes is referred to as the striking platform . Flakes may be produced by a variety of means. Force may be introduced by direct percussion (striking

2838-474: Is the dorsal (or exterior) surface. On most natural cobbles or nodules of source material, a weathered outer rind called a cortex covers the unweathered inner material. Flakes are often differentiated by the amount of cortex present on their dorsal surfaces, because the amount of cortex indicates when in the sequence of reduction the flake came from. Primary flakes are those whose dorsal surfaces are entirely covered with cortex; secondary flakes have at least

2924-728: Is through DNA hybridization . Single-stranded DNA segments of both species are allowed to form complementary pair bonding with each other. More closely related species have a more similar genetic makeup, and thus a stronger hybridization signal. Scholz et al. conducted southern blot hybridization on Neanderthal aDNA (extracted from fossil remain W-NW and Krapina). The results showed weak ancient human-Neanderthal hybridization and strong ancient human-modern human hybridization. The human-chimpanzee and neanderthal-chimpanzee hybridization are of similarly weak strength. This suggests that humans and neanderthals are not as closely related as two individuals of

3010-469: Is typified by its use of wedge initiation. Like bending initiation, no bulb of applied force results from wedging initiation, although in the bipolar technique, flakes may appear to have two points of percussion, on opposite ends, because the core has been fractured by a hammer and anvil technique. The core is placed on a hard surface or "anvil" and is struck above by a hammer, thus the fracture may propagate from both ends simultaneously. The end which received

3096-577: Is used over mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA because of its faster mutation rate as well as its intraspecific variation due to a higher consistency of polymorphism genetic markers . Findings in crop 'domestication genes' (traits that were specifically selected for or against) include Through the study of archaeogenetics in plant domestication, signs of the first global economy can also be uncovered. The geographical distribution of new crops highly selected in one region found in another where it would have not originally been introduced serve as evidence of

3182-574: The Clovis culture , and are the earliest examples of bi-beveled osseous rods, and also the only example found outside the Americas. There are also numerous ivory utensils, bone and ivory points, bone needles, a punch or an awl made from wolf bone, decorations and personal ornaments, and hunting weapons. Non-local materials such as amber were used to manufacture ornaments such as pendants, suggesting high mobility or extensive trade networks. Over 1,500 beads, some painted with red ochre, have been discovered at

3268-1101: The Last Glacial Maximum and more than twice the age of any previously known human settlement of the Arctic. By the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, around 21,000 cal BP, the archaeological culture represented by the Yana site had disappeared. From the exposed cultural layer, hundreds of animal bones have been discovered at the site, from a wide variety of species, including many that are now extinct. The species include woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis ), woolly mammoth ( Mammuthus primigenius ), Pleistocene hare ( Lepus tanaiticus ), steppe bison ( Bison priscus ), horse ( Equus ferus caballus ), musk ox ( Ovibos moschatus ), wolf ( Canis lupus ), polar fox ( Vulpes lagopus ), brown bear ( Ursus arctos ), Pleistocene lion ( Panthera spelaea ), wolverine ( Gulo gulo ), rock ptarmigan ( Lagopus mutus hyperboreus ), and reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ),

3354-430: The 1950s. During the 1940s, Boyd and Karl O. Renkonen independently discovered that lectins react differently to various blood types, after finding that the crude extracts of the lima bean and tufted vetch agglutinated the red blood cells from blood type A but not blood types B or O. This ultimately led to the disclosure of thousands of plants that contained these proteins. In order to examine racial differences and

3440-612: The ABO blood groups and hair color of people at the Macedonian front, leading to his discovery that the hair color and blood type had no correlation. In addition to that he observed that there was a decrease of blood group A from western Europe to India and the opposite for blood group B. He hypothesized that the east-to-west blood group ratio stemmed from two blood groups consisting of mainly A or B mutating from blood group O, and mixing through migration or intermingling. A majority of his work

3526-528: The Altai Mountains of Siberia between 17.2 and 10.1 kya, after the LGM. Analysis of both mtDNA and Y-chromosome DNA reveals evidence of “small, founding populations.” Studying haplogroups has led some scientists to conclude that a southern migration into the Americas from one small population was impossible, although separate analysis has found that such a model is feasible if such a migration happened along

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3612-465: The DNA into two single strands at high temperatures. Annealing involves attaching primer strands of DNA to the single strands that allow Taq polymerase to attach to the DNA. Extension occurs when Taq polymerase is added to the sample and matches base pairs to turn the two single strands into two complete double strands. This process is repeated many times, and is usually repeated a higher number of times when used with ancient DNA . Some issues with PCR

3698-530: The DNA of relative modern genetic populations allows researchers to run comparison studies that provide a more complete analysis when ancient DNA is compromised. Archaeogenetics receives its name from the Greek word arkhaios , meaning "ancient", and the term genetics , meaning "the study of heredity". The term archaeogenetics was conceived by archaeologist Colin Renfrew . In February 2021, scientists reported

3784-468: The Neolithic. Most mtDNA's were “already established” among existing Mesolithic and Paleolithic groups. Most “control-region lineages” of modern European mtDNA are traced to a founder event of reoccupying northern Europe towards the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). One study of extant European mtDNA's suggest this reoccupation occurred after the end of the LGM, although another suggests it occurred before. Analysis of haplogroups V, H, and U5 support

3870-554: The Northern Point locality. DNA extracted from two of these teeth, which were found to be from two unrelated males, were found to represent a distinct archaeogenetic lineage which can be modelled as a mixture of early West Eurasian with significant contribution (c. 22% to 50%) from early East Asians (represented by Tianyuan man ), an ancestral lineage that the authors have named 'Ancient North Siberian' (ANS), thought to have diversified around 38,000 years ago. Both individuals from

3956-524: The Y-chromosome lineages indicate that primarily males partook in these migrations. The discovery of two subbranches U2i and U2e of the U mtDNA lineage, which arose in Central Asia has “modulated” views of a large migration from Central Asia into India, as the two branches diverged 50 kya. Furthermore, U2e is found in large percentages in Europe but not India, and vice versa for U2i, implying U2i

4042-802: The Yana site were found to belong to mitochondrial haplogroup U , and Y chromosome haplogroup P1 . This is currently the oldest human genetic material retrieved from Siberia. Archaeogenetics Archaeogenetics is the study of ancient DNA using various molecular genetic methods and DNA resources. This form of genetic analysis can be applied to human, animal, and plant specimens. Ancient DNA can be extracted from various fossilized specimens including bones, eggshells, and artificially preserved tissues in human and animal specimens. In plants, ancient DNA can be extracted from seeds and tissue. Archaeogenetics provides us with genetic evidence of ancient population group migrations, domestication events, and plant and animal evolution. The ancient DNA cross referenced with

4128-457: The bending flakes often associated with bifacial thinning and trimming. The relative abundance of each type of flake can indicate what sort of lithic work was going on at a particular spot at a particular point in time. A blade is defined as a flake with parallel or subparallel margins that is usually at least twice as long as it is wide. There are numerous specialized types of blade flakes. Channel flakes are characteristic flakes caused by

4214-412: The blow or pressure is referred to as the proximal end of the flake; the terminal end is referred to as the distal end. The side displaying the bulb of force but without flake scars (barring an errailure flake scar or additional working of the flake) is called the ventral (or interior) surface, while the opposite side, displaying the flake scars of previous removals, or the cortical or original rock surface,

4300-414: The chemical composition of bone and soil, and hydrology . There are three perseveration diagenetic phases. The first phase is bacterial putrefaction , which is estimated to cause a 15-fold degradation of DNA. Phase 2 is when bone chemically degrades, mostly by depurination . The third diagenetic phase occurs after the fossil is excavated and stored, in which bone DNA degradation occurs most rapidly. Once

4386-455: The coasts. Finally, archaeogenetics has been used to study the occupation of Australia and New Guinea. The Indigenous people of Australia and New Guinea are phenotypically very similar, but mtDNA has shown that this is due to convergence from living in similar conditions. Non-coding regions of mt-DNA have shown “no similarities” between the aboriginal populations of Australia and New Guinea. Furthermore, no major NRY lineages are shared between

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4472-601: The continent found 14 genetic and linguistic “clusters,” suggesting an ancient geographic structure to African populations. In general, genotypic and phenotypic analysis have shown “large and subdivided throughout much of their evolutionary history.” Genetic analysis has supported archaeological hypotheses of a large-scale migrations of Bantu speakers into Southern Africa approximately 5 kya. Microsatellite DNA, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and insertion/deletion polymorphisms (INDELS) have shown that Nilo-Saharan speaking populations originate from Sudan. Furthermore, there

4558-404: The core with a percussor such as a rock or antler), indirect percussion (striking the core with an object, sometimes referred to as a "punch", which itself is struck by a percussor, similar to the use of a hammer and chisel to shape stone), or by pressure. Additionally, flakes may be initiated in a Hertzian , bending, or wedging fashion. When a flake is detached from its core in a Hertzian fashion,

4644-519: The detachment of the subject flake. These flake scars are one of the lines of evidence used to infer the method of lithic reduction, or the process by which raw material is turned into useful objects. Flakes can be modified into formal tools, which result from additional working of the piece to shape a flake into a desired form, or they can be used without further modification, and are then referred to as expedient tools. For example, scrapers, which may be made by additional removals, known as retouchings, to

4730-415: The development of domestication of dogs. Genetic studies have shown that all dogs are descendants from the gray wolf, however, it is currently unknown when, where, and how many times dogs were domesticated. Some genetic studies have indicated multiple domestications while others have not. Archaeological findings help better understand this complicated past by providing solid evidence about the progression of

4816-542: The distribution and migration patterns of various racial groups, Boyd systematically collected and classified blood samples from around the world, leading to his discovery that blood groups are not influenced by the environment, and are inherited. In his book Genetics and the Races of Man (1950), Boyd categorized the world population into 13 distinct races, based on their different blood type profiles and his idea that human races are populations with differing alleles . One of

4902-411: The domestication of dogs. As early humans domesticated dogs the archaeological remains of buried dogs became increasingly more abundant. Not only does this provide more opportunities for archaeologists to study the remains, it also provides clues about early human culture. [REDACTED] Evolutionary biology portal [REDACTED] History portal Lithic flake In archaeology ,

4988-510: The dorsal surface. Prismatic blades begin to appear in high frequencies during the transition between the Middle and Upper Paleolithic.This lithic technology basically replaces the Levallois reduction technology. The striking platform is the point on the proximal portion of the flake on which the detachment blow fell or pressure was placed. This may be natural or prepared. Termination type

5074-490: The existing data on blood group gene frequencies, and largely contributing to the genetic map of the world through his investigation of blood groups in many populations. Mourant discovered the new blood group antigens of the Lewis , Henshaw , Kell , and Rhesus systems, and analyzed the association of blood groups and various other diseases. He also focused on the biological significance of polymorphisms . His work provided

5160-467: The finds indicate a sustained and long-term human occupation of the site, and demonstrate a high level of cultural and technological development. Archaeologists have noted similarities between the Yana RHS and the Clovis culture , especially their respective stone industries and distinctive spear foreshafts. Human teeth, dated to around 31,630 calibrated years before present, were found at the site, at

5246-412: The flake propagates in a conchoidal manner from the point of impact or pressure, usually producing a partial Hertzian cone. The cone of force often leaves a distinctive bulb of applied force on the flake and a corresponding flake scar on the core. A bending initiation results when a flake initiates not at the point where the force was applied, but rather further away from the edge of the core, resulting in

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5332-491: The fluting of certain Paleo-Indian projectile points ; such fluting produced grooves in the projectile points which may have facilitated hafting. Prismatic blades are long, narrow specialized blades with parallel margins which may be removed from polyhedral blade cores, another common lithic feature of Paleo-Indian lithic culture. Prismatic blades are often triangular in cross section with several facets or flake scars on

5418-502: The force rolling away from the core, resulting in a rounded distal end. Step terminations result when a flake prematurely breaks or snaps during removal, leaving a distal end that is often squared off. Plunging flakes are the result of the force rolling back towards the core and often taking off its "bottom". Hinge, step, and plunging terminations, although sometimes deliberately formed, are usually errors called "abrupt terminations". Abrupt terminations are often indicative of internal flaws in

5504-416: The fossil is found in warmer regions. A drastic change of a fossil's environment also affects DNA preservation. Since excavation causes an abrupt change in the fossil's environment, it may lead to physiochemical change in the DNA molecule. Moreover, DNA preservation is also affected by other factors such as the treatment of the unearthed fossil like (e.g. washing, brushing and sun drying), pH , irradiation ,

5590-433: The fossil process that inhibit PCR amplification. However, silica itself is also a strong PCR inhibitor , so careful measures must be taken to ensure that silica is removed from the DNA after extraction. The general process for extracting DNA using the silica-based method is outlined by the following: One of the main advantages of silica-based DNA extraction is that it is relatively quick and efficient, requiring only

5676-422: The foundation for archaeogenetics because it facilitated the separation of genetic evidence for biological relationships between people. This genetic evidence was previously used for that purpose. It also provided material that could be used to appraise the theories of population genetics . William Boyd was an American immunochemist and biochemist who became famous for his research on the genetics of race in

5762-517: The genetic diversity of northeastern groups with southeastern groups has allowed archaeologists to conclude many of the northeast Asian groups came from the southeast. The Pan-Asian SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) study found “a strong and highly significant correlation between haplotype diversity and latitude,” which, when coupled with demographic analysis, supports the case for a primarily south-to-north occupation of East Asia. Archaeogenetics has also been used to study hunter-gatherer populations in

5848-497: The identification of ancestors for domesticated animals. The information gained from genetics studies on current populations helps guide the Archaeologist's search for documenting these ancestors. Archaeogenetics has been used to trace the domestication of pigs throughout the old world. These studies also reveal evidence about the details of early farmers. Methods of Archaeogenetics have also been used to further understand

5934-519: The last of which was probably the primary source of game. There is direct evidence for the hunting of steppe bison, reindeer, and brown bear at the site. The faunal remains suggest that the human settlers at this site had a diverse diet. Some animals were probably hunted by humans for their fur. For instance, hare skeletons are found fully articulated, and were likely snared for their pelts, which are light and warm, rather than for meat. Until 2008, an unexpectedly low number of mammoth bones were found at

6020-443: The major early corridor for geographical dispersal of modern humans from out-of-Africa. Based on studies of mtDNA line M, some have suggested that the first occupants of India were Austro-Asiatic speakers who entered about 45–60 kya. The Indian gene pool has contributions from earliest settlers, as well as West Asian and Central Asian populations from migrations no earlier than 8 kya. The lack of variation in mtDNA lineages compared to

6106-444: The manufacture of better hunting weapons. The Yana stone industry is flake-based , using a simple knapping technology. Blades are rare and microblades are absent. Large tools are mostly unifacial or incomplete bifaces. Among thousands of stone artifacts, no stone hunting tools have been discovered at the Yana site. Instead, hunting tools seem to have been made from bone and ivory. A variety of other stone tools have been found at

6192-545: The most abundant information sources regarding inheritable traits linked to race remains the study of blood groups. Fossil retrieval starts with selecting an excavation site . Potential excavation sites are usually identified with the mineralogy of the location and visual detection of bones in the area. However, there are more ways to discover excavation zones using technology such as field portable x-ray fluorescence and Dense Stereo Reconstruction. Tools used include knives , brushes , and pointed trowels which assist in

6278-463: The most widely held theory suggests “three waves” of migration after the LGM through the Bering Strait, genetic data have given rise to alternative hypotheses. For example, one hypothesis proposes a migration from Siberia to South America 20–15 kya and a second migration that occurred after glacial recession. Y-chromosome data has led some to hold that there was a single migration starting from

6364-705: The oldest DNA ever sequenced was successfully retrieved from a mammoth dating back over a million years. Ludwik Hirszfeld was a Polish microbiologist and serologist who was the President of the Blood Group Section of the Second International Congress of Blood Transfusion. He founded blood group inheritance with Erich von Dungern in 1910, and contributed to it greatly throughout his life. He studied ABO blood groups . In one of his studies in 1919, Hirszfeld documented

6450-428: The original sample. To avoid contamination it is necessary to take many precautions such as separate ventilation systems and workspaces for ancient DNA extraction work. The best samples to use are fresh fossils as uncareful washing can lead to mold growth. DNA coming from fossils also occasionally contains a compound that inhibits DNA replication. Coming to a consensus on which methods are best at mitigating challenges

6536-790: The region, such as the Ainu from Japan and Negrito groups in the Philippines. For example, the Pan-Asian SNP study found that Negrito populations in Malaysia and the Negrito populations in the Philippines were more closely related to non-Negrito local populations than to each other, suggesting Negrito and non-Negrito populations are linked by one entry event into East Asia; although other Negrito groups do share affinities, including with Indigenous Australians . A possible explanation of this

6622-608: The removal of fossils from the earth. To avoid contaminating the ancient DNA , specimens are handled with gloves and stored in -20 °C immediately after being unearthed. Ensuring that the fossil sample is analyzed in a lab that has not been used for other DNA analysis could prevent contamination as well. Bones are milled to a powder and treated with a solution before the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process. Samples for DNA amplification may not necessarily be fossil bones. Preserved skin, salt-preserved or air-dried, can also be used in certain situations. DNA preservation

6708-505: The same species are, but they are more related to each other than to chimpanzees. There have also been some attempts to decipher aDNA to provide valuable phenotypic information of ancient species. This is always done by mapping aDNA sequence onto the karyotype of a well-studied closely related species, which share a lot of similar phenotypic traits. For example, Green et al. compared the aDNA sequence from Neanderthal Vi-80 fossil with modern human X and Y chromosome sequence, and they found

6794-402: The site, compared to the enormous number of bones from other mammals, which was interpreted to mean that mammoths played a limited role in the subsistence strategy of humans at the site, and had not been hunted but instead were scavenged for ivory and bone, which was used for tools and building materials. This interpretation was revised when ivory hunters discovered an additional locality nearby at

6880-478: The site, however, including chopping tools, scrapers, chisel-like tools, and a hammer stone. Organic materials are well-preserved at the site due to the permafrost . Around 2,500 bone and ivory artefacts have been discovered at the site between 2002 and 2016. These include a rhinoceros horn foreshaft and two mammoth ivory foreshafts, which may have been straightened with a shaft-wrench, combined with heating or steaming. The foreshafts are said to be similar to those of

6966-650: The site. These include rounded mammoth ivory beads and tubular beads made from Pleistocene hare bone. Pendants were found made from reindeer teeth and herbivore incisors, and occasionally carnivore canines, or more rarely from minerals such as amber, as well as one specimen made from anthraxolite shaped like a horse or mammoth head. Ivory hair band ornaments are also found. Three-dimensional objects are less common, but include 19 antler animal figurines, probably intended to represent mammoths, three ornamented ivory vessels, and two engraved mammoth tusks, possibly engraved with drawings of hunters or dancers. The extent and density of

7052-606: The splitting event between the two groups was over 50 kya, casting doubt on recent common ancestry between the two. Archaeogenetics has been used to understand the development of domestication of plants and animals. The combination of genetics and archeological findings have been used to trace the earliest signs of plant domestication around the world. However, since the nuclear, mitochondrial, and chloroplast genomes used to trace domestication's moment of origin have evolved at different rates, its use to trace genealogy have been somewhat problematic. Nuclear DNA in specific

7138-483: The two populations. The high frequency of a single NRY lineage unique to Australia coupled with “low diversity of lineage-associated Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) haplotypes” provide evidence for a “recent founder or bottleneck” event in Australia. But there is relatively large variation in mtDNA, which would imply that the bottleneck effect impacted males primarily. Together, NRY and mtDNA studies show that

7224-401: Was a massive influx of Near Eastern populations into Europe at the start of the Neolithic. This view led him “to strongly emphasize the expanding early farmers at the expense of the indigenous Mesolithic foraging populations.” mtDNA analysis in the 1990s, however, contradicted this view. M.B. Richards estimated that 10–22% of extant European mtDNA's had come from Near Eastern populations during

7310-510: Was found to be powerful in analyses of aDNA because it avoids potential loss of sample, substrate competition for templates, and error propagation in replication. The most common way to analyze an aDNA sequence is to compare it with a known sequence from other sources, and this could be done in different ways for different purposes. The identity of the fossil remain can be uncovered by comparing its DNA sequence with those of known species using software such as BLASTN. This archaeogenetic approach

7396-480: Was researching the links of blood types to sex, disease, climate, age, social class, and race. His work led him to discover that peptic ulcer was more dominant in blood group O, and that AB blood type mothers had a high male-to-female birth ratio. Arthur Mourant was a British hematologist and chemist . He received many awards, most notably Fellowship of the Royal Society . His work included organizing

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