Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 17, 2025
06:18
Optimized Bone Sampling Protocols for the Retrieval of Ancient DNA from Archaeological Remains
Published on: November 30, 2021
4.8K
Screening archaeological bone for palaeogenetic and palaeoproteomic studies
Ioannis Kontopoulos1, Kirsty Penkman2, Victoria E Mullin3,4
1Department of Archaeology, BioArCh, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|June 26, 2020
Summary
This study introduces rapid, minimally-destructive spectroscopic methods to assess ancient bone quality. These techniques reliably distinguish well-preserved specimens for palaeogenetics and palaeoproteomics, saving valuable archaeological samples.
Area of Science:
- Archaeological science
- Biomolecular archaeology
- Spectroscopy
Background:
- Ancient DNA and protein analysis from bone is destructive and costly.
- Palaeogenetic and palaeoproteomic research needs effective, rapid, and minimally-destructive screening methods.
- Assessing molecular quality before sampling is crucial for valuable specimens.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate spectroscopic techniques for assessing bone molecular preservation.
- To establish reliable thresholds for distinguishing well-preserved from poorly-preserved archaeological bone.
- To enable informed sample selection for palaeogenetic and palaeoproteomic analyses.
Main Methods:
- Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) on 266 bone samples.
- Palaeoproteomic analysis to determine collagen content (n=226).
- Palaeogenetic analysis to determine endogenous DNA content (n=88).
Main Results:
- Established reliable thresholds for three FTIR indices: IRSF, C/P ratio, and Am/P ratio.
- FTIR indices effectively distinguish between well- and poorly-preserved bone specimens.
- Spectroscopic assessment provides a rapid and minimally-destructive quality control measure.
Conclusions:
- FTIR spectroscopy offers a reliable and rapid method for screening archaeological bone quality.
- This technique is a milestone for optimizing sample selection in biomolecular archaeology.
- Minimally-destructive assessment preserves valuable archaeological specimens for future research.
