Unlocking the Past

by Martin Jones

  identifying individuals, 235–238

  Lindahl’s rates of DNA breakdown, 28–32

  mitochondrial, 46, 61–66, 99, 138, 147, 148, 153, 170, 178, 195, 233, 258, 261

  of mummies, 21

  Neanderthal, 68–72, 289

  nuclear, 61–63

  Pääbo clones, 21

  the PCR, 23–26

  and proteins, 205

  reading the blueprint, 202

  restriction enzymes break the chain, 16

  sequencing, 59–60

  sperm test, 40

  stability of, 29

  and study of diseases, 263

  time frame for ancient DNA analysis, 41

  and tuberculosis, 273

  value of long-chain structure, 200

  Watson and Crick’s discovery, 15

  working with targeted fragments, 16, 17

  dodo, 12, 141

  dogs, 81, 136, 138, 139, 140, 156, 273

  Dominican Republic, 27

  Dorset, 162

  Drancourt, Michel, 269

  Eagle Pub, Cambridge, 15, 16

  Earth’s crust, 94, 206, 207, 279

  East Africa, 55, 57, 184

  Easter Island, 176–179, 180

  Eastern Fertile Crescen, 122–124

  The Economist, 114

  EcoRI enzyme, 16

  Eglinton, Geoff, 10, 30, 31, 32, 35, 200

  Egypt, 162, 176, 184, 185, 222

  Egyptians, ancient

  blood types, 8

  diet, 222–223

  mummification, 90, 203–204

  tuberculosis, 270

  einkorn wheat, 113, 125

  Ekaterinburg, Russia, 238, 241

  El Yaral, 148

  electron microscopy, 213

  electrophoresis gel, 235, 242

  elements, 223

  elephants, 75, 142, 143, 150, 205, 278

  Elizabeth II, Queen, 240

  emmer wheat, 125–127

  energy molecules, 130, 206–207

  England see Britain

  enzymes

  and bones, 89

  Crick on, 15

  restriction, 16, 17, 19, 113, 196, 235, 236

  epidemics, 265

  Equus, 20

  Ethiopia, 152, 186, 195

  ethydium bromide, 21, 24

  Eurasia, the horse in, 145, 147

  Europe

  agriculture, 107, 187–192, 199

  ancestry and civilizations, 187–192

  blood groups, 203–204

  cattle, 152–154

  culture, 163

  gene loci, 165–166

  the horse arrives in, 145

  Neolithic, 145

  new artefacts in, 106

  origins of European civilization, 163–164

  vast body of information on, 163–164

  Evans, John, 9

  Evershed, Richard, 217–220, 222, 226, 227, 230

  evolution

  in action, 109, 241

  Darwinian, 20, 52–54, 73, 104, 144

  dispersed, 11, 31, 97, 108–110

  hominid, 206

  human, 41, 54, 55, 57, 73, 74, 99–101

  linear, 162

  random, 57

  the rate of, 56, 60, 67

  unilinear, 161, 162, 247

  virus, 21

  Extinct DNA Study Group, 19, 27, 28

  extinction, 52, 65, 108, 140, 141, 144, 146, 157, 199, 205, 281

  family structures, 245, 258

  family trees see phylogenies

  farming see agriculture

  Farrell, Brian, 28

  fatty acids, 207, 215, 222, 227, 230, 274

  fatty substances, 8, 9, 206

  Feldhof Cave, Neander valley, near Dusseldorf, 50, 69, 81

  fermentation, 221–223

  Fertile Crescent, 105, 108, 109, 110, 114, 115, 122–124, 127, 135, 136, 149, 150, 154, 156, 164, 187, 188, 212, 287

  Fiji, 178

  Finland, 188

  first principal component, 167

  fish

  200-million-year-old, 28

  in Chinchorro societies, 255

  Florida sinkholes see Little Salt Spring; Windover Pond

  Florida State University, 23

  flotation, 7, 8, 101, 103, 107

  food

  boiling, 220–221

  production, 7

  remains, 7

  roasting, 222–223, 226

  see also diet

  food chains, 130, 211, 212, 224–226, 256, 265, 271, 295

  forensic science, 235, 237, 286

  Fornacieri, Gino, 263

  Forster, Peter, 172–175

  Fort Victoria, 153

  fossils, 9, 12, 20, 26, 27, 29, 38, 40, 54, 55, 57–58, 65, 67, 70, 107, 138, 143, 151, 277–279

  France, 191, 269

  Neanderthal samples, 72

  fuel, 7, 117, 120, 206

  Fungi, 81, 82, 89

  digestion of DNA, 38–39

  and hair, 228

  and PCR, 35

  gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), 31, 217, 218, 219, 220, 226, 227

  Gatersleben, Germany, 127

  GC/MS see gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry

  Geigl, Eva-Maria, 290, 291

  gelatin, 41, 69

  gene cloning of ancient DNA, 17, 22

  gene frequencies, 21

  gene maps, 165–168, 287

  genes

  amelogenin, 242, 243

  coding, 59, 62

  cytochrome b, 39, 40, 62, 142

  mitochondrial, 40–41

  number of, 60

  protein-building, 202

  transfer between unrelated organisms, 15

  genetic bottleneck, 76, 111, 121, 128, 147, 170, 172, 176, 182

  genetic engineers, 17, 22

  genetic fingerprinting, 235, 236

  genetic information recovery, 15

  genetic variation, 99, 120, 165, 167, 168, 187

  genetics, Neanderthal, 68–72

  Germany, 19, 127, 163, 191, 271

  Gernaey, Angela, 274, 275, 279

  Gerstenberger, Julia, 242–243

  giant sloths, 141

  gibbons, 56

  Gilford, John, 24

  Gimbutas, Maria, 145, 163, 167, 187

  Glastonbury, 1, 6

  Glastonbury Ware pottery, 1

  glutenins, HMW (high molecular weight), 125–126

  glycerol, 207

  glycine amino acid units, 202

  goats, 109, 135, 136, 149

  Golenberg, Edward, 27, 28, 29, 30, 123, 143, 207

  Goloubinoff, Pierre, 120, 121, 129

  Golson, Jack, 178

  gorillas, 56, 57, 78, 99,

  Gottingen, 242, 245

  Gould, Stephen Jay: Wonderful Life, 9

  grain crops, 100, 103, 153, 210, 211

  see also barley; cereals; rice; wheat

  Grant, Bill, 86

  Gray, George, 6

  Great Zimbabwe, 153

  Greece/Greeks, ancient, 125, 126, 149, 184, 264, 270

  Green, Roger, 180

  Greenberg, Joseph, 169–173, 175

  Greenland mummies, 91

  Grimaldi, David, 28

  grinding stones, 210, 211, 212, 225

  guanine (G), 16, 25, 29, 202

  Guizhou province, China, 122

  gut flora, 231, 276, 277, 278

  haemoglobin, 16, 205

  Hagelberg, Erika, 36, 142, 157, 173, 177–182, 236–238, 250

  hair

  and diet, 227–229, 255

  keratin in, 16

  Hanaura hill, near Takuta-Nishibun, 254

  Hanni, Catherine, 248

  haplotypes, 112, 138, 139, 153, 156, 178, 186, 190, 191, 240, 243, 251, 253

  mitochondrial, 66, 156, 175, 182, 241, 243, 244, 253

  Y, 196, 243, 244, 256

  Harappa, 150–151

  Hastorf, Christine, 121

  Hather, Jon, 212

  Hauswirth, Bill, 83, 249, 250, 251
>
  Head, Ian, 279

  Hedges, Robert, 36

  Heidelberg, Germany, 53, 271

  Helen-on-the Walls church, York, 268

  Hemudu, China, 123

  herbivores, 136, 140, 169, 224, 226

  food chain, 224

  migrating, 169

  Herrmann, Bernd, 242, 245

  Heun, Manfredd, 113, 114, 127

  Heyerdahl, Thor, 176, 177, 178

  Higgs, Eric, 109, 110, 112, 114, 136

  High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), 234, 274

  Higuchi, Russell, 19, 20–21, 123

  Himalayan range, 122

  Hippocrates, 270

  Hirschfeld, Hanna, 203

  Hirschfeld, Ludwik, 203

  HLA see human lymphocyte antigens

  Hodder, Ian, 150

  Holtz, Irene, 210, 211

  hominids, 41

  brow-ridges, 50, 53

  collective improvement, 106

  dating of, 58

  fate of, 73

  Neanderthal man, 52–54, 67–72

  Olduvai Gorge finds, 55

  and progress, 54–55

  time scale, 57, 64

  Homo erectus, 53, 54, 67, 289, 290

  Homo heidelbergensis, 53

  hopanes, 279

  Hopewell culture, 225

  hormones, 16, 129

  horses, 71, 136, 139, 140, 141, 144–148, 159, 257, 293

  Höss, Matthia, 143

  house construction, 7

  Hudson Bay, 174

  human culture, 161

  attributes of, 49

  diversity, 99–100

  Human Genome Project, 61, 77, 78

  human lymphocyte antigens (HLA), 250, 251

  humans

  adaptability of modern humans, 108–109

  co-existence with Neanderthals, 71, 72

  as a single species, 49

  Hummel, Susanne, 242, 245

  hunter-gatherers, 106, 115, 131, 132, 135, 187, 189, 190, 191, 232, 247, 251

  Hurles, Matt, 182

  Huxley, Thomas, 52

  hydrocarbon, 206

  hydrofluoric acid, 291

  hydrogen, 219, 223, 233

  hydrolysis, 87

  hydroxy-apatite, 89, 215

  hypervariable segments, 63, 69, 70, 72, 151, 172, 240, 248, 253

  Ice Man see Oetzi

  ice sheets, melting, 97, 98, 108

  Idaho, 26–28, 30

  Illinois River, 174, 247

  Illinois State Museum, 174

  immunoglobulins, 165, 205

  immunology, 203, 214

  Inca societies, 272

  India, 57, 114, 122, 139, 143, 145, 148, 153, 203

  Indo-European languages, 145, 163, 184, 187

  Indus Basin, 136

  Indus Valley, 150, 153

  Industrial Revolution, 52, 106, 218, 266

  industrialization, 259, 270, 271

  infant mortality, 265

  infra-red spectroscopy, 9, 217

  insects, 2, 7, 11, 27, 34, 35, 36, 53, 54, 81, 82, 277, 278

  Institut Pasteur, Lille, 248

  insulin, 16

  introns, 118

  Inuit, 169–172

  invertebrates, 7, 11, 56, 81, 82, 282, 289

  ionic pressure, 290

  Iran, 125, 135

  IS6110, 273

  isotopes, 193, 223–225, 227–231, 255–260

  isozymes, 110, 119, 121

  Israel, 71, 103, 105, 109, 125, 127, 135, 186, 208, 275

  jackals, 138

  Jaihu, China, 123

  Jalisco Valley, Mexico, 113, 119

  Japan, 123, 124, 138, 199, 271

  Jarmo, 105, 135

  Java, 50, 53, 54

  Java Man, 54

  Jericho, 105, 125

  JOIDES Resolution, 83

  Jordan, 116, 125

  Judaea, 36

  Jurassic Park (film), 28, 37

  Justinian Plague, 265, 266, 269, 282

  Kadwell, Miranda, 149

  Karagadag mountains, Turkey, 113

  Kazakhstan, 145, 146

  Kenyon, Kathleen, 105

  keratin, 16, 87, 228, 255

  Kilu Cave, Buka Island, 213

  kinship studies

  early farming society, 247

  hunter-gatherer community, 247

  pre-Columbian community, 247

  Kislev, Mordechai, 109

  Kleve, Germany, 245

  Kon-Tiki voyage (Heyerdahl), 177, 182

  Konigsfeld, Earls of, 242, 245

  Konya Plain, Turkey, 150

  Kossinna, Gustav, 163

  Krings, Matthias, 72, 186

  !Kung bushmen, 107, 185

  Kurgan cultures, 145, 187

  La Mula, 211

  Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland, 5

  lake villages, 5, 6, 291

  Lalueza Fox, Carles, 185, 186

  Lambesc, France, 269

  Laos, 122

  Lapita beach, New Caledonia, 178, 181

  Lapita pottery, 178, 180, 181

  LBK (Linear Bandkeramic) culture, 191

  Leakey, Louis, 55

  Leakey, Mary, 55

  leaves, 2, 26, 27, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 82, 104, 218, 219, 272

  Lebanon, 125

  Lee, R. B. and I. De Vore: Man the Hunter, 107

  Leeuwenhoek, Antonie van, 286

  legumes, 103, 125, 135, 136, 211, 226

  Leicester University, 86

  Lena River, 96, 170

  Leonard, Jennifer, 12, 139

  leprosy, 268

  Levi-Strauss, Claude, 221, 222

  Levine, Marsha, 147

  lignin, 91, 92, 208

  Lindahl, Tomas, 28–34, 36, 49

  lipids, 9, 31, 45, 110, 207, 208, 209, 217–223, 226, 227, 229–233, 274, 275, 279

  Lister, Adrian, 145–147, 159

  Little Salt Spring, Florida, 24, 83

  Llamas, 86, 148, 149

  Lleren, 211

  loess soils, 191

  London University, 207, 212

  London Zoo, 149

  Louise of Hesse-Cassel, 240, 241

  Lowenstein, Jerold, 204, 205, 214

  Loy, Thomas, 213–216

  Lu, C., 19

  Luojiajiao, China, 123

  lysosomes, 89

  McDonald lecture, Cambridge University, 189

  Macko, Steve, 228, 229, 232, 255–256

  MacNeish, Richard, 119, 122

  Magadan, Siberia, 205

  Magnolia latahensis leaves, 26–28, 30, 32, 37, 41, 116, 143, 207, 277

  Maillard products, 93

  Mainz Museum of Natural History, 19–20

  maize, 101, 113, 119–122, 124, 129, 130, 209–212, 225–226, 233

  mammals

  enslavement, 140

  evolution, 53

  New World, 140

  and PCR, 34

  mammoths, 36, 41, 71, 72, 96, 141–144, 157, 158, 204–205

  Manchester University, 126

  Manchuria, 170

  manioc, 211

  Mapuche Indians, 182

  Maria of Aragon, Marchioness of Vasto, 263, 264, 269, 276

  Marseilles, 269

  mastodons, 143, 144, 205, 278

  matrilineage, 246

  matrilocality, 246, 248, 249, 259

  Mauer, near Heidelberg, 53

  Mauritius, 141

  Meadow, Richard, 136, 150

  Meare, 6

  meat, 219, 227, 229

  medicine, 21, 264–265, 270

  Mediterranean, 108, 127, 183, 185, 186, 194, 203

  Mehrgarh, 136, 150

  Melanesia, 76–77, 179

  Mellaart, James, 150

  Menez-Dregan, Brittany, 290

  Mengele, Dr Joseph, 236–238, 240, 256

  Menozzi, Paolo, 165

  Merriwether, Andy, 171–172, 174

  Mesopotamia, 183

  metalworking, 164, 187, 225

  Mexico, 113, 119, 122, 129, 139

  Michela
ngelo, 263

  Michigan, 27, 32, 143, 279

  micro-organisms, 81, 222, 224, 264, 265, 276

  microsatellites, 237, 240, 242–245, 250–251

  microscopy, 41, 213, 286

  Middle East, 106, 114, 187, 188, 191

  migrations, 5, 161, 164, 285

  first steps across America, 168–173

  and lineages, 173–174

  ocean crossings, 176–178

  the pre-Columbian ‘Oneota’ of Illinois, 174–176

  milk, 226, 227, 270

  millet, 101

  mineralization, 116

  minerals, 32, 208, 218, 275

  Miocene epoch, 36, 37, 116, 207–208

  mitochondria, 39, 40, 46, 61–67, 99, 111, 117–118, 138, 147–148, 155, 156, 170–172, 178, 180, 240, 249, 254, 261, 287

  mitochondrial control region, 13, 63, 69, 70, 138, 141–142, 172, 175, 178, 180, 187, 193, 194, 240, 247, 248, 249, 250, 253

  mitochondrial diversity, 249

  Mitochondrial Eve, 64–67, 71, 111, 112, 138

  mitochondrial lineages, 66, 171, 182, 249

  Moa, 38, 141

  Mohenjo-Daro, 150

  molecular archaeology, 11, 12, 43, 139, 197, 223, 235, 269

  molecular biology, 21

  molecular clocks, 58–60, 67, 71, 120, 121, 126, 138, 139, 155, 171, 172, 264, 287

  molecular genetics, 165, 168

  molecular revolution, 110

  molecular science, 11, 21, 55, 79, 287

  molecules

  change, 56

  energy, 206

  long-chain, 59, 86, 87, 218

  and oxidation, 87–88

  protein, 214

  Monagrillo shell mound, 211

  Mongolia, 144, 146

  monkeys

  New World, 56

  Old World, 56, 57

  serum albumin studies, 56

  Morro site, 255

  mosses, 93

  Mullis, Kary, 22, 23

  mummies, 9, 17, 19, 21, 25, 27, 28, 36, 86, 89, 90, 91, 148, 162, 173, 185, 203–205, 256, 263, 272, 273, 276, 281, 285

  Munich Institute of Zoology, 33, 40, 68, 70

  Murdock, George Peter, 246

  mutation, 40, 56–58, 60, 61, 63, 72, 118, 120, 125, 142, 155, 174, 175, 185, 186, 191, 232, 295

  Myanmar (Burma), 122

  Mycobacterium genus, 234, 272, 273

  Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 276

  mycolic acids, 274

  mycolipids, 276

  Na-Dene, speakers, 169–172

  Native American languages, 169

  Native Americans, 139, 169, 171, 175, 180, 248

  Natural Environmental Research Council, 10

  natural history, 8, 52

  Natural History Museum, London, 34, 37, 74, 159, 190

  natural selection, 40, 52, 53, 56, 58, 59, 60, 128, 144

  Nature journal, 21, 22, 26, 30, 31, 37, 45, 61, 75, 177

  Neanderthal man, 46, 52, 53, 54, 68–74, 76, 99, 108, 111, 128, 132, 141, 186, 208, 289, 294, 296

  Near East, 114, 124, 153–155, 163, 187, 208, 232

  Negev Desert, Israel, 275

  Neolithic deviation from nature, 265, 270, 273

  Neolithic Revolution, 104, 106, 273, 293

  Neolithic sites, 105, 152, 191

  Netiv Hagdud, 109

  New Caledonia, 178

  New Guinea, 64, 138, 179, 212