Copyright (c) 2013 University of Connecticut All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/anthro_articles Recent documents in Articles en-us Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:20:40 PDT 3600 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/anthro_articles/2 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/anthro_articles/2 Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:02:09 PST DNA extracted from ancient plant remains almost always contains a mixture of endogenous (that is, derived from the plant) and exogenous (derived from other sources) DNA. The exogenous ‘contaminant’ DNA, chiefly derived from microorganisms, presents significant problems for shotgun sequencing. In some samples, more than 90% of the recovered sequences are exogenous, providing limited data relevant to the sample. However, other samples have far less contamination and subsequently yield much more useful data via shotgun sequencing. Given the investment required for high-throughput sequencing, whenever multiple samples are available, it is most economical to sequence the least contaminated sample. We present an assay based on quantitative real-time PCR which estimates the relative amounts of fungal and bacterial DNA in a sample in comparison to the endogenous plant DNA. Given a collection of contextually-similar ancient plant samples, this low cost assay aids in selecting the best sample for shotgun sequencing.

]]> Nathan Wales et al. http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/anthro_articles/1 http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/anthro_articles/1 Fri, 25 Aug 2006 07:31:52 PDT Over the past several decades a variety of models have been proposed to explain perceived behavioral and cognitive differences between Neanderthals and modern humans. A key element in many of these models and one often used as a proxy for behavioral “modernity” is the frequency and nature of hunting among Palaeolithic populations. Here new archaeological data from Ortvale Klde, a late Middle–early Upper Palaeolithic rockshelter in the Georgian Republic, are considered, and zooarchaeological methods are applied to the study of faunal acquisition patterns to test whether they changed significantly from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic. The analyses demonstrate that Neanderthals and modern humans practiced largely identical hunting tactics and that the two populations were equally and independently capable of acquiring and exploiting critical biogeographical information pertaining to resource availability and animal behavior. Like lithic techno-typological traditions, hunting behaviors are poor proxies for major behavioral differences between Neanderthals and modern humans, a conclusion that has important implications for debates surrounding the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition and what features constitute “modern” behavior. The proposition is advanced that developments in the social realm of Upper Palaeolithic societies allowed the replacement of Neanderthals in the Caucasus with little temporal or spatial overlap and that this process was widespread beyond traditional topographic and biogeographical barriers to Neanderthal mobility.

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