DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America

Gilbert, M. Thomas P.; Jenkins, Dennis L.; Götherström, Anders; Naverán, Nuria; Sánchez, Juan J.; Hofreiter, Michael; Thomsen, Philip Francis; Binladen, Jonas; Higham, Thomas; Yohe, Robert M.; Parr, Robert E.; Cummings, Linda Scott; Willerslev, Eske

doi:10.1126/science.1154116

Cited by 299 publications

(186 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…But our findings suggest that these events, if they occurred as classically conceived, did not deliver the deathblow. Given recent reports of human presence elsewhere in the Americas by Ϸ14,000 yr BP (36,37) and the small likelihood of discovering evidence of Homo sapiens or the most recent traces of mammoth and horse in the New World, the duration of human/megafaunal overlap was probably even greater than suggested by our sedaDNA results, raising questions about the mode and tempo of extinction.…”

Section: Probability Of Missing Late Survival In the Fossilcontrasting

confidence: 39%

Ancient DNA reveals late survival of mammoth and horse in interior Alaska

Haile

Froese

MacPhee

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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247

181

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Causes of late Quaternary extinctions of large mammals (''megafauna'') continue to be debated, especially for continental losses, because spatial and temporal patterns of extinction are poorly known. Accurate latest appearance dates (LADs) for such taxa are critical for interpreting the process of extinction. The extinction of woolly mammoth and horse in northwestern North America is currently placed at 15,000 -13,000 calendar years before present (yr BP), based on LADs from dating surveys of macrofossils (bones and teeth). Advantages of using macrofossils to estimate when a species became extinct are offset, however, by the improbability of finding and dating the remains of the last-surviving members of populations that were restricted in numbers or confined to refugia. Here we report an alternative approach to detect 'ghost ranges' of dwindling populations, based on recovery of ancient DNA from perennially frozen and securely dated sediments (sedaDNA). In such contexts, sedaDNA can reveal the molecular presence of species that appear absent in the macrofossil record. We show that woolly mammoth and horse persisted in interior Alaska until at least 10,500 yr BP, several thousands of years later than indicated from macrofossil surveys. These results contradict claims that Holocene survival of mammoths in Beringia was restricted to ecologically isolated high-latitude islands. More importantly, our finding that mammoth and horse overlapped with humans for several millennia in the region where people initially entered the Americas challenges theories that megafaunal extinction occurred within centuries of human arrival or were due to an extraterrestrial impact in the late Pleistocene.extinction ͉ permafrost ͉ megafauna ͉ Beringia

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Section: Probability Of Missing Late Survival In the Fossilcontrasting

confidence: 39%

Ancient DNA reveals late survival of mammoth and horse in interior Alaska

Haile

Froese

MacPhee

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

247

181

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“…13.8 ka BP) has also been suggested (e.g. [50][51][52]) and hotly debated [53][54][55][56][57]. The exact timing of human arrival in the Americas remains uncertain.…”

Section: Fire and The Arrival Of People In North Americamentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire history on the California Channel Islands spanning human arrival in the Americas

Hardiman

Scott

Pinter

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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One contribution of 24 to a discussion meeting issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'. Recent studies have suggested that the first arrival of humans in the Americas during the end of the last Ice Age is associated with marked anthropogenic influences on landscape; in particular, with the use of fire which, would have given even small populations the ability to have broad impacts on the landscape. Understanding the impact of these early people is complicated by the dramatic changes in climate occurring with the shift from glacial to interglacial conditions. Despite these difficulties, we here attempt to test the extent of anthropogenic influence using the California Channel Islands as a smaller, landscape-scale test bed. These islands are famous for the discovery of the 'Arlington Springs Man', which are some of the earliest human remains in the Americas. A unifying sedimentary charcoal record is presented from Arlington Canyon, Santa Rosa Island, based on over 20 detailed sedimentary sections from eight key localities. Radiocarbon dating was based on thin, fragile, long fragments of charcoal in order to avoid the 'inbuilt' age problem. Radiocarbon dating of 49 such fragments has allowed inferences regarding the fire and landscape history of the Canyon ca 19-11 ka BP. A significant period of charcoal deposition is identified approximately 14-12.5 ka BP and bears remarkable closeness to an estimated age range of the first human arrival on the islands.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'.

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“…However, these methods can be problematic if DNA preservation is poor or if surface contamination is high. Alternatively, a number of alternative sources of ancient human DNA are known in the archaeological record, including coprolites (preserved feces) (Gilbert et al 2008b; Poinar et al 2001), quids (chewed and expectorated plant matter) (LeBlanc et al 2007), and aprons (menstruation garments) (LeBlanc et al 2007). However, in most cases such sources are rare, being preserved only under exceptional circumstances, and many have culturally, geographically, or temporally limited distributions.…”

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confidence: 99%

Successful enrichment and recovery of whole mitochondrial genomes from ancient human dental calculus

Ozga

Nieves-Colón

Honap

et al. 2016

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives Archaeological dental calculus is a rich source of host-associated biomolecules. Importantly, however, dental calculus is more accurately described as a calcified microbial biofilm than a host tissue. As such, concerns regarding destructive analysis of human remains may not apply as strongly to dental calculus, opening the possibility of obtaining human health and ancestry information from dental calculus in cases where destructive analysis of conventional skeletal remains is not permitted. Here we investigate the preservation of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in archaeological dental calculus and its potential for full mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) reconstruction in maternal lineage ancestry analysis. Materials and Methods Extracted DNA from six individuals at the 700-year-old Norris Farms #36 cemetery in Illinois was enriched for mtDNA using in-solution capture techniques, followed by Illumina high-throughput sequencing. Results Full mitogenomes (7-34x) were successfully reconstructed from dental calculus for all six individuals, including three individuals who had previously tested negative for DNA preservation in bone using conventional PCR techniques. Mitochondrial haplogroup assignments were consistent with previously published findings, and additional comparative analysis of paired dental calculus and dentine from two individuals yielded equivalent haplotype results. All dental calculus samples exhibited damage patterns consistent with ancient DNA, and mitochondrial sequences were estimated to be 92–100% endogenous. DNA polymerase choice was found to impact error rates in downstream sequence analysis, but these effects can be mitigated by greater sequencing depth. Discussion Dental calculus is a viable alternative source of human DNA that can be used to reconstruct full mitogenomes from archaeological remains.

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DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America

Cited by 299 publications

References 12 publications

Ancient DNA reveals late survival of mammoth and horse in interior Alaska

Ancient DNA reveals late survival of mammoth and horse in interior Alaska

Fire history on the California Channel Islands spanning human arrival in the Americas

Successful enrichment and recovery of whole mitochondrial genomes from ancient human dental calculus

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