Skeletal remains from archaeological and forensic contexts are commonly used for various analyses, including DNA.
Our research investigates relatively fast and inexpensive ATR-FTIR spectroscopy with ...further data manipulation as a potential pre-screening technique for assessing the preservation state of skeletal remains. We seek to correlate spectra and chemometric indices with the biological, chemical, and physical composition of the skeletal tissue, and the quality and quantity of DNA preserved in the tissue, also considering the skeletal element, absolute age, and environmental conditions to which the remains have been exposed.
Our research focuses on human bones and teeth derived from archaeological, WWII and forensic contexts. The samples are cleaned and pulverized according to established methodological procedures for DNA extraction. DNA is extracted and quantified, while the remaining powder is analysed by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The obtained spectra are manipulated to extract the chemometric indices, which are the base for statistical analyses, machine learning, and prediction algorithms.
A compilation of results from several studies shows that ATR-FTIR spectra present a solid base for researchers to better understand the preservation state of phosphates, carbonates, and collagen in the skeletal tissues, assessment of post-mortem interval, and the preservation of the DNA. Although many questions still need to be answered, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy with further data manipulation has a high potential for research of taphonomic changes, PMI and DNA preservation in human skeletal remains.
ATR-FTIR spectroscopy is a fast and accessible, minimally or non-destructive technique which provides information on physiochemical characteristics of analyzed materials. In forensic and ...archaeological sciences, it is commonly used for answering numerous questions, including the archaeological or forensic context of the human skeletal remains. In this research, the accuracy of ATR-FTIR-obtained spectra for separation between forensic, WWII, and archaeological human skeletal remains was investigated. Building from the previously proposed methodological procedures, various ratio-based and whole spectra separation procedures were applied, carefully analyzed, and evaluated. Results showed that employing whole spectral domains works best for the separation of archaeological, WWII, and forensic samples, even with samples of highly variable origin. Principal component analysis (PCA) further highlighted the necessity of acknowledging all the major components in the remains: amides, phosphates, and carbonates for the separation. Most influential proved to be amide I, namely its secondary structure, which presented well-preserved and organized collagen structure in forensic and WWII samples, while highly degraded in archaeological samples. Using the whole spectral domain for separation between samples from different contexts proved to be fast and simple, with no manipulation beyond baseline correction and normalization of spectra necessary. However, a dataset with samples of known origin is required for the learning model and predictions. A less accurate alternative is separation based on combining ratios of peaks correlating to organics and minerals in the bone, which eliminated overlapping and managed to classify the majority of the samples correctly as archaeological, WWII, or forensic.
To test the usefulness of the forensic PCR-MPS approach to eye and hair color prediction for aged skeletons, a customized version of the PCR-MPS HIrisPlex panel was used on two sets of samples. The ...first set contained 11 skeletons dated from the 3rd to the 18th centuries AD, and for each of them at least four bone types were analyzed (for a total of 47 samples). In the second set, 24 skeletons from the Second World War were analyzed, and only petrous bones from the skulls were tested. Good-quality libraries were achieved in 83.3% of the cases for the ancient skeletons and in all Second World War petrous bones, with 94.7% and 100% of the markers, respectively, suitable for SNP typing. Consensus typing was achieved for about 91.7% of the markers in 10 out of 11 ancient skeletons, and the HIrisPlex-S webtool was then used to generate phenotypic predictions. Full predictions were achieved for 3 (27.3%) ancient skeletons and 12 (50%) Second World War petrous bones. In the remaining cases, different levels of AUC (area under the receiver operating curve) loss were computed because of no available data (NA) for 8.3% of markers in ancient skeletons and 4.2% of markers in Second World War petrous bones. Although the PCR-based approach has been replaced with new techniques in ancient DNA studies, the results show that customized forensic technologies can be successfully applied to aged bone remains, highlighting the role of the template in the success of PCR-MPS analysis. However, because several typical errors of ancient DNA sequencing were scored, replicate tests and accurate evaluation by an expert remain indispensable tools.
Na Savski cesti 10 v Kranju so arheološka izkopavanja leta 2010 razkrila tri gradbene faze prazgodovinske poselitve. Ob bogatih keramičnih najdbah so bili iz vsake faze ohranjeni tudi ostanki ...lesenih stavb. V štirih jamah za sohe, ki pripadajo dvema stavbama, so bili najdeni kosi lesenih brun, ki so omogočili dendrokronološke analize in radiokarbonsko datiranje. Osrednji del prispevka obsega tipološko študijo keramičnega posodja. Ta je na podlagi primerjav z najdbami z drugih najdišč pokazala, da ima območje ob Savski cesti, podobno kot druge lokacije v Kranju, največ vzporednic med gradivom iz časa stopenj Ljubljana II in IIIa oz. Ha B3 in Ha C0 (v srednjeevropskem smislu). Opredelitev je nadgrajena z absolutno datacijo ostankov brun. Ta kaže, da je stavba 1A iz prve faze nastala v prvi polovici 8. st. pr. n. št. in stavba 2 druge faze najverjetneje na začetku druge polovice 8. st. pr. n. št.
Analize človeških tkiv iz arheoloških kontekstov pomembno pripomorejo k razumevanju posameznikov in družb v preteklosti. Na primeru četvernega groba 336–339 s poznoantičnega grobišča Bled – ...Pristava predstavljamo potek in rezultate celostne interdisciplinarne raziskave, ki združuje nekaj pri raziskovanju skeletnih tkiv najpogosteje izvedenih analiz, rezultate teh pa povezujemo v širši arheološki in zgodovinski kontekst. Na podlagi zbranih podatkov je mogoče sklepati, da so bili štirje pokojniki, oče s hčerama in sinom, v skupni grob položeni sočasno in premišljeno, morda zaradi posebnih okoliščin ob smrti. Grobni pridatki postavijo kontekst v sredino 6. st., radiokarbonsko datiranje pa v čas 5. in prve polovice 6. st. Analize stabilnih izotopov kažejo nihanja v prehrani skozi različna življenjska obdobja, povezana s spremembo prehrane in fiziološkim stresom. Rezultati interdisciplinarne študije, izvedene na posmrtnih ostankih štirih oseb, prikazujejo, kako se različne analize dopolnjujejo in/ali med seboj potrjujejo, kako velik je njihov domet pri razumevanju življenja in smrti obravnavanih oseb ter kakšen je njihov potencial za razumevanje življenja celotnih skupnosti v določenih zgodovinskih obdobjih.
The burial of multiple individuals within a single funerary monument invites speculation about the relationships between the deceased: were they chosen on the basis of status, gender or relatedness, ...for example? Here, the authors present the results of aDNA and isotope analyses conducted on seven individuals from an Early Iron Age barrow at Dolge njive, south-eastern Slovenia. All seven individuals are close biological relatives. While the group composition suggests strict adherence to neither patrilineal nor matrilineal structures, the funerary tradition appears highly gendered, and family links through both the male and female lines seem important in structuring of the community. The results have implications for understanding of kinship and funerary practices in late prehistoric Europe.
Highlights • The PowerQuant kit was tested as a predictor of autosomal STR typing success. • Quantity and quality of DNA was examined on ancient and WWII bone samples. • Bone extracts with no ...PowerQuant quantitation results did not produce any profile. • STR profiles were generated from bones with simultaneously detected short and long targets. • The PowerQuant kit can be used as a predictor of autosomal STR typing success.
Prispevek predstavlja dognanja interdisciplinarne raziskave človeških kostnih ostankov, odkritih leta 2011 na grobišču iz starejše železne dobe na Cesti Borisa Kidriča v Zagorju ob Savi. ...Študija je del obsežnejšega projekta osteoloških in izotopskih analiz kostnih ostankov iz bronaste in železne dobe (14–4. st. pr. n. št.) z območij Slovenije in Hrvaške.
Osteološka raziskava šestih oseb je pokazala, da gre za ostanke enega mlajšega odraslega moškega, enega zrelega odraslega moškega in dveh zrelih odraslih žensk ter dveh otrok nedoločljivega spola. Pri vseh šestih osebah so bile na kolagenu, pridobljenem iz kosti in/ali dentina, opravljene analize stabilnih izotopov ogljika in dušika. Na podlagi rezultatov lahko pri vseh osebah sklepamo na kopensko prehrano, ki vključuje živalske proteine (meso in/ali mlečne izdelke) in rastlinske sestavine tako iz rastlin C3 kot C4.
Prazgodovinski kompleks Cvinger pri Dolenjskih Toplicah leži na strateški točki na prehodu med Dolenjsko in Belo krajino. Tukaj odkrite najdbe so imele pomembno vlogo pri opredelitvi mlajšega ...halštatskega obdobja v jugovzhodnih Alpah. Prav tako pomembno je odkritje železarsko-talilniškega območja.
V zadnjih letih pa je bil Cvinger predmet interdisciplinarnih raziskav, ki so povezale sodobne tehnike daljinskega zaznavanja, kot so zračno lasersko skeniranje in geofizikalne meritve, s tradicionalnimi arheološkimi metodami. Rezultati so pripeljali do novih dognanj o celotnem kompleksu, vključno z natančnejšo datacijo talilniškega območja, pridobljeno z metodo arheomagnetnega datiranja.
Phenotypic trait prediction in ancient DNA analysis can provide information about the external appearance of individuals from past human populations. Some studies predicting eye and hair color in ...ancient adult skeletons have been published, but not for ancient subadult skeletons, which are more prone to decay. In this study, eye and hair color were predicted for an early medieval adult skeleton and a subadult skeleton that was anthropologically characterized as a middle-aged man and a subadult of unknown sex about 6 years old. When processing the petrous bones, precautions were taken to prevent contamination with modern DNA. The MillMix tissue homogenizer was used for grinding, 0.5 g of bone powder was decalcified, and DNA was purified in Biorobot EZ1. The PowerQuant System was used for quantification and a customized version of the HIrisPlex panel for massive parallel sequencing (MPS) analysis. Library preparation and templating were performed on the HID Ion Chef Instrument and sequencing on the Ion GeneStudio S5 System. Up to 21 ng DNA/g of powder was obtained from ancient petrous bones. Clean negative controls and no matches with elimination database profiles confirmed no contamination issue. Brown eyes and dark brown or black hair were predicted for the adult skeleton and blue eyes and brown or dark brown hair for the subadult skeleton. The MPS analysis results obtained proved that it is possible to predict hair and eye color not only for an adult from the Early Middle Ages, but also for a subadult skeleton dating to this period.
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