0000000000283262
AUTHOR
Gisela Grupe
Yersinia pestis DNA from Skeletal Remains from the 6th Century AD Reveals Insights into Justinianic Plague
Yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of the disease plague, has been implicated in three historical pandemics. These include the third pandemic of the 19th and 20th centuries, during which plague was spread around the world, and the second pandemic of the 14th–17th centuries, which included the infamous epidemic known as the Black Death. Previous studies have confirmed that Y. pestis caused these two more recent pandemics. However, a highly spirited debate still continues as to whether Y. pestis caused the so-called Justinianic Plague of the 6th–8th centuries AD. By analyzing ancient DNA in two independent ancient DNA laboratories, we confirmed unambiguously the presence of Y. pestis DNA in…
Climbing into the past—first Himalayan mummies discovered in Nepal
In a cave system in Mebrak (Mustang District, Western Nepal), a team of archaeologists investigating extensive abandoned settlements in the high Himalayas made an extraordinary discovery in 1995. One of the caves had been used as a community burial chamber from ca. 400 BC to 50 AD. Inside, approximately 30 naturally mummified bodies rested in bed-like wooden coffins exhibiting ornamental carving and elaborate painting. The dead had been furnished with a rich store of grave goods consisting of both personal ornaments and objects of daily life as well as the remains of domestic animals. Due to the favourable climatic conditions, all of the artefacts, which also include fur and textile garment…
Estimating the chance of success of archaeometric analyses of bone: UV-induced bone fluorescence compared to histological screening
Abstract For most archaeometric analyses on archaeological bone material, such as the determination of the isotopic composition or genetic approaches, an advanced degree of diagenetic alteration can make designated analysis impossible. Since the lack of a positive signal is mostly seen only after time consuming and cost intensive sample processing, the need for an easy-to-apply screening method that allows a pre-selection of samples containing well-preserved biomolecules is obvious. In this study, we visually determined the UV-induced autofluorescence of 76 horse bone cross-sections, all from prehistoric archaeological sites of varying environmental and chronological background. In order to…