小柯机器人

德国马克斯普朗克进化人类学研究所Matthias Meyer等研究人员合作，从一个旧石器时代的吊坠中找到的古人类DNA。2023年5月3日，《自然》杂志在线发表了这项成果。

研究人员报告了一种非破坏性的方法，用于逐步释放被困在古代骨和牙齿工艺品中的DNA。将该方法应用于俄罗斯丹尼索瓦洞的一个旧石器时代晚期的鹿牙吊坠，结果恢复了古代人类和鹿的线粒体基因组，这使研究人员能够估计该吊坠的年龄约为19000-25000年。核DNA分析确定了吊坠的推定制作者或佩戴者是一个女性，与一群生活在同一时期但以前只在西伯利亚更远的地方发现的古代北欧亚个体具有很强的遗传亲缘关系。这项工作重新定义了文化和遗传记录在史前考古学中的联系方式。

研究人员表示，用石头、骨头和牙齿制作的手工艺品是人们了解更新世人类生存策略、行为和文化的基础。尽管这些资源很丰富，但除非是在墓葬中发现的，否则不可能将人工制品与特定的人类个体联系起来，而这些个体在这个时期是很罕见的。因此，人们根据生物性别或遗传血统来辨别更新世个体的社会角色的能力是有限的。

附：英文原文

Title: Ancient human DNA recovered from a Palaeolithic pendant

Author: Essel, Elena, Zavala, Elena I., Schulz-Kornas, Ellen, Kozlikin, Maxim B., Fewlass, Helen, Vernot, Benjamin, Shunkov, Michael V., Derevianko, Anatoly P., Douka, Katerina, Barnes, Ian, Soulier, Marie-Ccile, Schmidt, Anna, Szymanski, Merlin, Tsanova, Tsenka, Sirakov, Nikolay, Endarova, Elena, McPherron, Shannon P., Hublin, Jean-Jacques, Kelso, Janet, Pbo, Svante, Hajdinjak, Mateja, Soressi, Marie, Meyer, Matthias

Issue&Volume: 2023-05-03

Abstract: Artefacts made from stones, bones and teeth are fundamental to our understanding of human subsistence strategies, behaviour and culture in the Pleistocene. Although these resources are plentiful, it is impossible to associate artefacts to specific human individuals1 who can be morphologically or genetically characterized, unless they are found within burials, which are rare in this time period. Thus, our ability to discern the societal roles of Pleistocene individuals based on their biological sex or genetic ancestry is limited2,3,4,5. Here we report the development of a non-destructive method for the gradual release of DNA trapped in ancient bone and tooth artefacts. Application of the method to an Upper Palaeolithic deer tooth pendant from Denisova Cave, Russia, resulted in the recovery of ancient human and deer mitochondrial genomes, which allowed us to estimate the age of the pendant at approximately 19,000–25,000 years. Nuclear DNA analysis identifies the presumed maker or wearer of the pendant as a female individual with strong genetic affinities to a group of Ancient North Eurasian individuals who lived around the same time but were previously found only further east in Siberia. Our work redefines how cultural and genetic records can be linked in prehistoric archaeology.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06035-2

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06035-2

Nature：《自然》，创刊于1869年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：69.504
官方网址：http://www.nature.com/
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