Unlocking the Past

by Martin Jones

  Roberts, C. and Manchester, K. (1995) The Archaeology of Disease. 2nd edn, Stroud: Sutton.

  Rollo, F. and Marota, I. (1999) ‘How microbial ancient DNA, found in association with human remains, can be interpreted’, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 354: 111-19.

  Rollo, F., Sassaroli, S. and Ubaldi, M. (1995) ‘Molecular phylogeny of the fungi of the Iceman’s grass clothing’, Current Genetics 28: 289-97.

  Rollo, F. et al. (1994) ‘Molecular ecology of a Neolithic meadow’, Experientia 50: 576-84.

  Rollo, F. et al. (1995) ‘The “neolithic” microbial flora of the Iceman’s grass: morphological description and DNA analysis’, in K. Spindler et al. (eds), Der Mann im Eis, Vol. 2, Springer-Verlag: Vienna and New York, pp. 107-14.

  Salo, W. L. et al. (1994) ‘Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in a pre-Columbian Peruvian mummy’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 91: 2091-4.

  Spigelman, M. and Lemma, E. (1993) ‘The use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis in ancient skeletons, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 3: 137-43.

  Taylor, G. M. (1996) ‘DNA from Mycobacterium tuberculosis identified in mediaeval human skeletal remains using polymerase chain reaction’, Journal of Archaeological Science 23: 789-98.

  Taylor, G. M., Rutland, P. and Molleson, T. (1997) ‘A sensitive polymerase chain reaction method for the detection of Plasmodium species DNA in ancient human remains’, Ancient Biomolecules 1 (3): 193-203.

  Taylor, G. M. et al. (1999) ‘Genotypic analysis of Mycohacterium tuberculosis from medieval human remains’, Microbiology 145(4): 899-904.

  Thierry, D. et al. (1990) ‘IS6110, an IS-like element of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex’, Nucleic Acids Research 181: 188.

  Ubaldi, M., Sassaroli, S. and Rollo, F. (1996) ‘Ribosomal DNA analysis of culturable deuteromyces from the Iceman’s hay: comparison of living and mummified fungi’, ancient Biomolecules 1(1): 35-42.

  Ubaldi, M. et al. (1998) ‘Sequence analysis of bacterial DNA in the colon of an Andean mummy’, American Journal of Physical Anthropology 107(3): 285-95.

  11 the hunt goes on

  Clarke, D. L. (1972) ‘A provisional model of an Iron Age society and its settlement system’, in D. L. Clarke (ed.), Models in Archaeology, London: Methuen, pp. 801–69.

  Collins, M. J., Waite, E. R. and Van Duin, A. C. T. (1999) ‘Predicting protein decomposition: the case of aspartic-acid racemization kinetics’, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 354: 51-64.

  Geigl, E.-M. (1996) ‘Homo erectus of Western France was not a vegetarian: zoological assignment of a fossil bone of Menez-Dregan I via a palaeogenetical approach’, in Actes du XIIIe congres UISPP, section 5.3.

  — (1997) ‘L’emergence de la paleogenetique’, Biofutur 164: 28-34.

  Underbill, A. et al. (1996) ‘A pre-Columbian Y chromosome-specific transition and its implications for human evolutionary history’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 93: 196-200.

  index

  Abri, 185

  acid, and bones, 81, 82, 89

  adenine (A), 16, 25, 29, 202, 237, 250

  adhi, 120

  adipocere, 207

  AFLP see amplified fragment length polymorphisms

  Africa

  cattle, 150–156

  expansion of farmers/metalworkers, 152

  Olduvai Gorge finds, 55

  sub-Saharan, 185–186

  Agricultural University, Norway, 113

  agriculture, 7, 42, 105–106, 161, 188, 286

  Asian, 153

  and dairying, 226–227

  European, 108, 187–192, 199

  expansion in Africa, 152–153

  and human population, 266, 276

  multiple routes, 110

  in the New World, 118–122, 168

  origin of, 100, 110, 112–115, 179, 286–287

  spread of maize cultivation, 209–212

  and tuberculosis, 271–272

  variety of prehistoric diets, 219–223

  Aguadulce rock shelter, Panama, 210–211

  Akhenaten, 92

  Alaska, 72, 138, 139, 168, 169, 174

  albumin protein studies, 56, 57, 64, 205, 214

  albumins, 56, 57, 64, 205, 214

  Aleppo, Syria, 127

  Aleutian islands, 169

  Aleuts, 169, 170, 171

  Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina, 238, 240, 241

  Alice, Princess, 240

  Alice of Battenburg, 240

  alkalis, 207

  Allaby, Robin, 126–127

  Allaikha River, 142

  alleles, 125, 126, 250

  Allison, Marvin, 204

  alpacas, 86, 148–149

  alpha clade, 127

  Alps, 191

  Alu-sequence, 21

  Amazon forest, 171, 249

  Amazon River, 171

  amber, 27, 28, 30, 34, 36, 40, 92, 277–280

  Ambergene, 278

  amelogenin gene, 242–243

  America, 141, 144, 188, 199

  first steps across, 168–173

  lineage A, 173–175

  lineage B, 173–175, 180

  lineage C, 173–175

  lineage D, 173–175

  lineage N, 175

  lineage X, 173–175

  mitochondrial control region charting, 188

  mummies, 203

  pioneer journeys, 170–171, 179

  pre-Columbian, 139, 140, 173–176

  American Museum of Natural History, New York, 28

  amino acids, 33–34, 118, 201–202

  and blood proteins, 214

  left-handed/right-handed, 33

  Neanderthal, 69

  racemization, 33–34, 69

  Ammerman, Albert, 164, 167, 187

  amphora, 217

  amplification, 26, 35, 39, 44, 69, 125, 143, 149, 185, 243, 273, 290

  amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP), 113

  Amud Cave, Israel, 208

  Amur River, 170

  Anatolia, 105, 127

  Ancient Biomolecules Initiative (ABI), 10, 32, 34, 200

  Anderson, 62, 63, 64

  Anderson sequence, 70, 71, 178, 185

  Andes mountains, 90, 91, 141, 199, 255

  animals

  domesticated, 104, 107, 112–115, 119, 121, 125, 136, 138, 141, 158, 169, 270

  extinct, 141–144, 199

  genetic blueprints, 110

  see also individual animals

  anthropologists, 50, 55, 65, 107, 194, 221–222, 246

  antibodies, 9, 203, 205, 291

  antigen, 203

  apatite, 41

  apes

  evolution of, 53

  human descent from, 52

  Araceae, 213

  ‘archaeological units’, 6, 7

  Arctic Sea, 170

  arrowroot, 211

  arthritis, 268

  Asia

  agriculture, 164, 188, 199

  camels, 148

  and Easter Islands, 178

  and a genetic bottleneck, 170

  the horse in, 144, 145, 146

  migration to America, 173

  mitochondrial control region charting, 187

  steppe, 109

  Assam, 122

  Atlantic Ocean, 174

  aurochsen, 135, 150, 155–156

  Australasia, 162, 176

  Australian National University, 212

  ‘Austronesian’ language family, 179

  autolysis, 24

  autosomes, 243, 251

  Axumite figure, 152

  bacteria, 81, 82, 89, 264

  in amber-entombed insects, 278

  anaerobic, 83

  hopanes in, 279

  salt-tolerant, 86–87

  spores, 277–279

  survival without air, 90

  tuberculosis, 270, 272–273

  Bailley, Mike, 270r />
  Baluchistan, 136, 150

  Bantu-speaking peoples, 152, 153

  barley, 100, 105, 109, 122, 125, 131, 132, 136, 162

  basalt, 213

  base-pairs, 15, 16, 20, 21, 25, 27, 29, 34, 39, 44, 60, 61, 62, 63, 69, 70, 121, 123, 124, 142, 143, 149, 151, 155, 171, 173, 180, 181, 185, 237, 249, 251, 253, 281

  Basques, 182, 190

  Beagle, HMS, 19, 107

  beer, 222–223

  Be’er Sheva University, 275

  bees, amber-embedded, 27, 34

  beeswax, 220, 231

  Bellwood, Peter, 179, 180

  Bering Straits, 11, 96, 144, 148, 172, 175, 176, 281

  Beringia, 170, 173, 273

  Bernal, Martin: Black Athen, 184

  beta clade (wheat), 127

  bio-archaeology, 7, 8, 107, 109, 199

  bio-minerals, 38, 206

  biological preservation

  burial, 81–84

  the colour of time, 92–94

  crumbling wood, 91–92

  disappearing bodies, 89–91

  in extremes of wet and dry, 84–87

  the plywood principle, 88

  why remnants survive, 94–95

  biomolecules

  amino acid racemization, 33

  artificial, 203

  atoms, 223

  Eglinton and, 30

  and the form of the whole organism, 59

  hopanes, 279–280

  and oxidation, 87

  retention of, 8

  start of the Ancient Biomolecules Initiative, 32

  and visual state of preservation, 35

  and waxy texture, 41

  bison, 96, 151, 154, 216

  bitumen, 90

  Black Death, 265–266, 268–270, 282–283

  blood

  albumins, 56–57, 64, 205, 214

  blood groups, 165, 188, 203, 204, 285

  haemoglobin in, 16, 205

  plasm, 56

  residues on stone tools, 213–216

  bog bodies, 24, 82, 83, 92, 93

  boiling, evidence of, 220, 222

  Bolivia, 139

  bones, 1–3, 7, 9, 101, 221, 285, 290

  burial, 81, 84

  chemical fate, 41

  collagen in, 16

  conservation of ancient, 202

  contamination, 35, 38–39

  diseased, 266, 268, 270–271, 275–276

  DNA in, 36, 37, 38, 155

  found in coal, 38

  mycolic acids in, 274

  Neanderthal man, 46, 52, 53, 54, 67–76

  structure, 38

  Sub-Saharan, 185

  survival of complex molecules, 94

  waxy Cretaceous, 39–41

  Borucki, Monica, 277, 278

  Bos, 154

  see also cattle

  Botai, Kazakhstan, 145, 146, 147

  bottle gourd, 211

  botulism, 277

  Boyd, Lyle, 9, 203–204, 285

  Boyd, William, 203

  brachiopods, 28, 56

  Bradley, Dan, 150–155

  Braidwood, Robert, 105, 122, 125, 135, 149

  brain

  bog bodies, 83

  expansion, 106

  Neanderthal, 53, 72, 73

  Pääbo’s research, 21–33, 36, 40

  Windover Pond discoveries, 23, 249

  brassicas, 218, 219

  Brazil, 171, 175

  bread, 107, 126, 213, 222, 223, 230

  Brevard County, Central Florida, 23

  brewing, 222–223

  Bristol University, 35, 84, 217

  Britain

  cattle in, 155

  the horse in, 145

  tuberculosis, 272

  Bronze Age, 259, 260, 271, 293

  brow-ridges, 50, 53, 99

  Brown, Keri, 10

  Brown, Terry, 10, 37, 115, 116, 121, 125, 130

  Browne, Sir Thomas, 207

  building materials, 213

  Buka Island, Solomon Island group, 212

  Bulleid, Arthur, 6

  Burgess Shale, 9

  burial, 26, 81–84, 89, 99, 120, 174, 175, 177, 242, 243, 245, 248, 252–254, 260, 274, 282, 290

  cabbage, 218–220, 222

  cabbage pots, 220, 222

  calcium oxalate, 213

  calcium phosphate, 41

  California, 22, 23, 46, 146, 277

  California Polytechnic State University, 277

  Calvados, France, 248

  Camarino University, 263

  Cambridge University, 6, 15, 16, 43, 109, 136, 159, 189, 240

  McDonald lecture, 189

  camelids, 141, 148, 149

  camels, 141, 148, 149

  Canada/Canadians, 11, 43, 174, 214, 215

  Cann, Rebecca, 64, 65, 67

  Cano, Raul, 28, 34, 37, 277, 278

  Cape of Good Hope, 19

  carbohydrates, 8, 87, 93, 110, 209

  carbon, 36, 58, 94, 116, 119, 223, 224, 225, 233, 279

  carbon dioxide, 87, 126, 224

  carbon isotopes, 224–227

  carboxyglutamic acid (GLA), 206

  carnivores, 224, 226

  casein, 291

  Catal Huyuk, Turkey, 150

  cats, 140

  cattle, 135, 141

  African, 151–154

  Asian (zebu), 153–154

  Domestication, 150–156

  European, 153, 154

  Harappan, 150–151

  and tuberculosis, 270, 271–272

  wild, 149, 154, 155

  Caucasus, 72

  Cavalli-Sforza, L. Luca, 164, 165, 167, 187, 188, 189, 190, 192, 193, 214, 250, 287

  Cayonu, Turkey, 105, 114,

  Cell journal, 71, 78

  cells

  animal, 110, 264

  biologists’ observations, 8

  biomolecules, 9

  nuclei of mummies, 19

  plant, 11, 110

  cellulose, 87, 91, 92, 208

  Celtic art forms, 1

  Central America, 101, 113, 176, 209, 210, 229

  Central Plains, 174

  cereals, 2, 3, 14, 101, 103, 104, 107, 109, 110, 114–117, 122, 125, 127, 131, 135, 136, 190, 208, 213, 225, 287

  see also barley; rice; wheat

  Cerro Juan Diaz, 211

  Ch’ang-sha, Hunan Province (liver of a Chinese corpse, Han dynasty tomb), 19

  charcoal burners, 116, 178

  Cheddar Cave, 190, 191

  Cheddar Gorge, 71

  cheese, 226, 231, 232, 272

  chemical kinetics, 29

  chemistry, 9, 16, 36, 58, 87, 97, 215

  Chifunbaze culture, 153

  Childe, Vere Gordon, 104–108, 110, 112, 124, 162, 187, 270

  Man Makes Himself, 104

  What Happened in History, 105

  ‘Children of the Sun’, 177, 178, 182

  Chile, 120, 177, 182, 272

  Museum of Natural History, 177

  chimpanzees, 111

  common ancestry with humans, 56, 70

  serum albumin studies, 56–57

  China, 199

  agriculture, 114

  pottery, 154

  Chinchorro mummies, 86, 91, 255, 272, 273

  chitin, 35

  chloroplasts, 26, 27, 117, 118, 123, 264

  chromosomes, 61, 62, 66, 118

  microsatellites in, 237

  X, 242

  Y, 153, 159, 182, 196, 242, 243, 249, 287

  Clarke, David, 6, 7, 291

  Clarkia, Idaho, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 35, 41

  clay, 2, 26, 96, 135, 150, 175, 215, 216, 218

  clay minerals, 96, 215

  climatic turbulence, 108

  Clostridium, 277

  coal, 38, 40

  coastal communities, 108

  codons, 202

  Coles, John, 6, 292

  collagen, 16, 41, 69, 87, 89, 202, 205, 206, 224, 225, 227, 229, 255, 289

  Collins, Matthew, 41, 74, 202, 231, 289, 291

  Collinson, Margaret, 20
7

  colonization, 161, 169, 180, 188, 192, 247

  Columbus, Christopher, 139, 168, 174, 175, 204, 272

  Conde-sur-Ifs, 248, 249

  conquistadors, 149, 204

  Cook Islands, 182

  Coon, Carlton, 54, 55, 65

  Cooper, Alan, 43, 71

  copal, 34

  cows see cattle

  coyotes, 138

  Craig, Oliver, 95, 230, 291

  Cretaceous period, 39, 40, 41

  Crichton, Michael: Jurassic Park, 27, 37

  Crick, Francis, 15, 16, 44

  Croatia: Neanderthal samples, 72

  cultural identity, 183

  curd, 222, 226, 231

  Current Biology journal, 30

  cutans, 207

  cutins, 207, 219

  Cuzco woman, Peru, 277

  cystine, 228

  cytochrome b gene, 39, 40, 62, 142

  cytosine (C), 16, 25, 237, 250

  D-loop (displacement loop), 63, 64, 69, 154

  Dagmar (mother of Tsar Nicholas II), 240

  dairying, 226, 227, 289, 291

  Danebury hillfort, 117, 125

  Darwin, Charles, 19, 52

  Darwinian evolution, 20, 52–54, 73, 104, 144

  Origin of Species, 104

  Darwinism, 53

  de Salle, Rob, 28, 34

  De Vore, 107

  Delefosse, Thomas, 248

  deletion, 124, 142, 171, 173, 180, 181

  dental groups, 169

  depurination, 29

  Dereivka, Russia, 145, 147

  Dholavira, 151

  Diamond, Jared, 114

  diet

  a dietary diary, 227–229

  dissecting the diet, 226–227

  evidence from isotopic signature, 223–226

  marine, 255

  varied prehistoric, 219–223

  diffusionism, 116, 162, 164, 177, 187

  Dima (a baby mammoth), 204, 205

  dinosaurs, 38, 39, 40, 41, 205–206, 290

  disease

  bacterial spores, 277–279

  life and death in mediaeval York, 268–270

  micro-organisms, 276–277

  plague, 265–270

  tuberculosis, 268, 270–271

  DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

  altered, 58

  of amber-entombed insects, 278

  amplification, 34, 39, 69, 235, 247, 253

  bacterial, 20, 30, 278, 279, 280

  beginning of intervention (1970s), 17

  of camelids, 148–149

  chloroplast, 26, 27, 117–118, 122, 123, 264

  coded information, 87

  dinosaur, 39, 40, 62, 206

  Easter Islanders, 177, 179, 180

  extinct animals, 20, 141–144

  extraction from commonplace materials, 35–37

  first isolation of ancient, 9, 17–19

  fragmented, 13, 43, 96, 97, 287

  genetic blueprints of plants and animals, 110

  genetic fingerprinting, 235, 236

  at the heart of each cell, 8