2018 was a blockbuster year for genomes in archaeology. Researchers reported ancient DNA (aDNA) from over 1,400 human remains, more than doubling the number of individuals who have yielded ancient genomic data. Many of the sequences have come from Europe and other regions with temperate climates, but researchers also recovered samples from environments long considered too hot and humid for aDNA preservation.
The surge in aDNA data is due to cheaper, faster methods for reading genetic code, as well as the discovery three years ago that the dense petrous bone of the inner ear can preserve up to 100 times more aDNA than other skeletal parts. It’s a “big game changer ... this little vault of aDNA,” says Elizabeth Sawchuk, a postdoctoral archaeologist at Stony Brook University.
The volume of genomic data analyzed enabled researchers to test some big hypotheses, including scenarios for the first migrations of people to the Americas and the spread of Indo-European language speakers. Along the way, intimate aspects of our ancestors have been revealed, such as skin color and the diseases they sometimes had to endure.
