Ancient DNA as a Tool for Navigating the Anthropocene

Abstract

Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis has led to significant breakthroughs in our understanding of the origin of our own species as well as that of many commensal and wild species. New approaches in aDNA research promise to make it a major tool for adaptation to and mitigation of the impacts of the rapidly changing climates of the Anthropocene. This article reviews a number of these new lines of research and their current and potential future contributions to responding to climate change, particularly in two areas: the generation of deeper baseline data on ecological and environmental change, and the tracking and recovery of lost genetic diversity to strengthen the resilience of living species. The article argues that aDNA analysis is creating a powerful new pathway for archeology to engage with the challenges of the Anthropocene.

Not a limitless resource: ethics and guidelines for destructive sampling of archaeofaunal remains

“…Analyses requiring destructive sampling can give valuable insights into important research fields, such as domestication, development of livestock breeds, ritual activity and trade, and contribute to the preservation of local livestock breeds and endangered species (e.g. [5,6,21,23,26,[77][78][79][80][81][82][83]). However, these analyses are most fruitful when done on archaeofaunal collections which have already been analysed with traditional zooarchaeological methods [7,23,32,45].…”

The wicked problem of biodiversity and ecosystem services in a changing world

“…'Ancient DNA (aDNA , Box 1)' provides deeper reference baselines, enables the reconstruction of paleoecological and paleodemographic dynamics of particular species, and informs on species extinctions (Hambrecht 2017). Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA ; Box 1) has been used as an emerging tool to reconstruct the past occurrence and trends of pollen, microbial and algal communities of lake systems for retrospective environmental assessment (Tse et al 2018).…”