Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Co-culture of Living Microbiome with Microengineered Human Intestinal Villi in a Gut-on-a-Chip Microfluidic Device
Published on: August 30, 2016
Ancient human microbiomes
Christina Warinner1, Camilla Speller2, Matthew J Collins2
1Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, 101 David L. Boren Blvd., Norman, OK 73019, USA.
Abstract:
Very recently, we discovered a vast new microbial self: the human microbiome. Our native microbiota interface with our biology and culture to influence our health, behavior, and quality of life, and yet we know very little about their origin, evolution, or ecology. With the advent of industrialization, globalization, and modern sanitation, it is intuitive that we have changed our relationship with microbes, but we have little information about the ancestral state of our microbiome, and we therefore lack a foundation for characterizing this change. High-throughput sequencing has opened up new opportunities in the field of paleomicrobiology, allowing us to investigate the evolution of the complex microbial ecologies that inhabit our bodies. By focusing on recent coprolite and dental calculus research, we explore how emerging research on ancient human microbiomes is changing the way we think about ancient disease and how archaeological studies can contribute to a medical understanding of health and nutrition today.
Related Concept Videos
Introduction to the Human Microbiota
Development of Human Microbiota
Microbiota of the Large Intestine
Microbiota of the Urogenital Tract
Human Virome
Microbiota of the Respiratory Tract

