Biomolecular Archaeology: Past, Present and Future

The information potentially available from biomolecules is vast, and often related to the most central concerns of archaeology. It is, however, entirely limited by the survival of such complex molecules and, further, by the sensitivity of the methods for their recovery and analysis. Recent advances in immunology, in protein chemistry and especially in the amplification of DNA sequences are beginning to show that antigens, proteins and nucleic acid sequences can be sufficiently well preserved in archaeological remains for useful results to be obtained. The history of such work shows the importance of establishing approaches that are reliable, specific, and not confused by contamination or diagenesis. Materials such as dried seeds, bone, and mummified skin, as well as artefacts bearing organic traces, have been studied, but a great deal remains to be learnt about the mode of preservation, the degree of biomolecular diagenesis, and the effect of the burial environment. One of the most important results from biomolecular studies is of the genetic constitution of an organism; recent work from several laboratories on the survival of DNA is described, with an account of the archaeological information which can now be contemplated.