Isolation and Characterization of DNA from Archaeological Bone

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 244; no. 1309; pp. 45 - 50
• Main Authors: Hagelberg, Erika, Clegg, John Brian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London The Royal Society 22-04-1991
• Subjects: Animals; Base Sequence; Bone and Bones - chemistry; Bones; Cytochromes; DNA; DNA - genetics; DNA - isolation & purification; DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics; DNA, Mitochondrial - isolation & purification; Forensic anthropology; Fossils; Humans; Mitochondrial DNA; Molecular Sequence Data; Nucleotide sequences; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polynesian studies; Sequencing
• ISSN: 0962-8452; 1471-2954
• DOI: 10.1098/rspb.1991.0049

DNA was extracted from human and animal bones recovered from archaeological sites and mitochondrial DNA sequences were amplified from the extracts using the polymerase chain reaction. Evidence is presented that the amplified sequences are authentic and do not represent contamination by extraneous DNA. The results show that significant amounts of genetic information can survive for long periods in bone, and have important implications for evolutionary genetics, anthropology and forensic science.