DNA identification of skeletal remains by investigator’s intuition

Identification of Skeletal Remains

Juvenile Skeletal Remains: Provenance, Identification and Interpretation

The correct identification of the skeletal components of juvenile remains is fundamental to their subsequent analysis and interpretation. This is true regardless of whether they are of archaeological or forensic origin. A lack of familiarity with immature remains may lead to incorrect classification as either ‘non-human’ or indeed ‘of uncertain origin’. This would have a major impact on the val...

Authenticating DNA Extracted From Ancient Skeletal Remains

The survival of DNA, the most informative biological molecule, for periods of at least several thousand years in bone was demonstrated more than four years ago. However, difficulties with authenticating ancient DNA have made diagenetic studies problematic. It is therefore essential that these problems be overcome before the question of DNA survival can be addressed. Here we describe our work wi...

DNA preservation: a microsatellite-DNA study on ancient skeletal remains.

To determine the effect of environmental factors on the preservation of DNA, archeological teeth of approximately similar age but greatly differing site milieu were examined for DNA content. The complex relational system of locational milieu of the samples was reduced to its essential and, at the same time, easily measurable factors. These are temperature, humidity, pH value, the geochemical pr...

Bioarchaeology: Scientific Studies of Archaeological Human Skeletal Remains

Bioarchaeology is an interdisciplinary academic specialty, which through the scientific analysis and interpretation of archaeological human skeletal remains, bridges the link between the biological sciences, medicine, anthropology and social sciences. The cornerstone of bioarchaeology is the interaction between culture and human biology. Since the study of people and ancient societies is one of...