Sex identification of ancient pinnipeds using the dog genome

Bro-Jørgensen, Maiken Hemme; Keighley, Xénia; Ahlgren, Hans; Scharff‐Olsen, Camilla Hjorth; Rosing‐Asvid, Aqqalu; Dietz, Runé; Ferguson, Steven H.; Gotfredsen, Anne Birgitte; Jordan, Peter; Glykou, Aikaterini; Lidén, Kerstin; Olsen, Morten Tange

doi:10.1101/838797

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…We used the chromosome resolved HiC genome assembly obtained from the DNA ZOO consortium [36]. We determined genetic sex for the Kyiv specimens (and several new stable isotope control samples noted below) by calculating the relative coverage of the X chromosome in comparison to autosomal walrus chromosomes (X:A coverage, following [3,37,38,39]). aDNA damage was assessed (mapDamage v. 2.0.6) [40]) excluding alignments with a threshold of MapQ-value < 25.…”

Section: (B) Adnamentioning

confidence: 99%

Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages

et al. 2022

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Mediaeval walrus hunting in Iceland and Greenland—driven by Western European demand for ivory and walrus hide ropes—has been identified as an important pre-modern example of ecological globalization. By contrast, the main origin of walrus ivory destined for eastern European markets, and then onward trade to Asia, is assumed to have been Arctic Russia. Here, we investigate the geographical origin of nine twelfth-century CE walrus specimens discovered in Kyiv, Ukraine—combining archaeological typology (based on chaîne opératoire assessment), ancient DNA (aDNA) and stable isotope analysis. We show that five of seven specimens tested using aDNA can be genetically assigned to a western Greenland origin. Moreover, six of the Kyiv rostra had been sculpted in a way typical of Greenlandic imports to Western Europe, and seven are tentatively consistent with a Greenland origin based on stable isotope analysis. Our results suggest that demand for the products of Norse Greenland's walrus hunt stretched not only to Western Europe but included Ukraine and, by implication given linked trade routes, also Russia, Byzantium and Asia. These observations illuminate the surprising scale of mediaeval ecological globalization and help explain the pressure this process exerted on distant wildlife populations and those who harvested them.

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Section: (B) Adnamentioning

confidence: 99%

Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages

et al. 2022

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“…Across all samples, most had unknown sex or ontogenetic age. Additional sexing was performed using genetic methods (Bro-Jørgensen et al, 2019). (Friesen & Mason, 2016).…”

Section: Sample Selection and Contextual Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting sample success for large‐scale ancient DNA studies on marine mammals

Keighley

Bro-Jørgensen

Ahlgren

et al. 2021

Molecular Ecology Resources

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In recent years, nonhuman ancient DNA studies have begun to focus on larger sample sizes and whole genomes, offering the potential to reveal exciting and hitherto unknown answers to ongoing biological and archaeological questions. However, one major limitation to such studies is the substantial financial and time investments still required during sample screening, due to uncertainty regarding successful sample selection. This study investigates the effect of a wide range of sample properties including latitude, sample age, skeletal element, collagen preservation, and context on endogenous content and DNA damage profiles for 317 ancient and historic pinniped samples collected from across the North Atlantic and surrounding regions. Using generalised linear and mixed‐effect models, we found that a range of factors affected DNA preservation within each of the species under consideration. The most important findings were that endogenous content varied significantly within species according to context, the type of skeletal element, the collagen content and collection year. There also appears to be an effect of the sample's geographic origin, with samples from the Arctic generally showing higher endogenous content and lower damage rates. Both latitude and sample age were found to have significant relationships with damage levels, but only for walrus samples. Sex, ontogenetic age and extraction material preparation were not found to have any significant relationship with DNA preservation. Overall, skeletal element and sample context were found to be the most influential factors and should therefore be considered when selecting samples for large‐scale ancient genome studies.

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Sex identification of ancient pinnipeds using the dog genome

Cited by 2 publications

References 39 publications

Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages

Walruses on the Dnieper: new evidence for the intercontinental trade of Greenlandic ivory in the Middle Ages

Predicting sample success for large‐scale ancient DNA studies on marine mammals

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