Paper Topic:

Molecular Archeology

Running Head : MOLECULAR ARCHAEOLOGY

Molecular Archaeology

[Name]

[Institution]

Different methods have been used and are being used in the analysis of archaeological data . Among others , different archaeometric fields such as paleoecology (paleozoology , paleobotany and pllenanalysis , dating methods (radiocarbon-dating and dendrochronology ) and analytical chemistry had been used for the evaluation of the quantity and quality of different archaeological substances (Kiesslich , n .d . Given the nature of archaeology , evaluated data are analyzed on the point of view of history

The recent discoveries in science particularly in genetics and molecular

biology have given rise to another method of scientific analysis of archaeological data . The new developments allow easier investigation of ancient remains not only through paleoecology , dating and chemical methods but on a molecular level . This new branch of archaeological analysis is what is now known as Molecular Archaeology

Christianson (2007 ) of the Minnesota State University gives a more perspicuous of the field . According to him , Molecular Archaeology is an .emergent field in archaeology that has been brought about by the advancements of the recognition and understanding of DNA , focusing on the acquisition of either DNA or mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA ) and being able to determine species of natural archaeological finds as well as determine blood lines and /or sex of animal or human remains ' It is this use of the DNA in the analysis of archaeological data that differentiates Molecular Archaeology from the other methods of archaeological analysis . It is the biological function of this DNA that makes molecular archaeology an irreplaceable field in analytical archaeology . This DNA contains genetic information which once known , could provide special information about the individual properties of the probe (Christianson , 2007 . These individual properties include one 's species , population , and gender . Also , Through the use of DNA residues , accuracy in reconstructing subsistence and related cultural activities is more probably . As a result , we gain more knowledge and understanding of the lives of our ancestors and the environment they lived in as well as of the other creatures that coexisted with them (Christianson , 2007

There was a time when molecular archaeology seemed to be inconceivable . This was when scientists believed that DNA-preservation was impossible in biological remains . Previous studies have shown that it only took days or even hours for degradation to occur after the death of an individual . With degradation , of course , is the loss of significant genetic information (Keisslich , n .d

It is one study in the early eighties defied this scientists ' limiting belief on the relationship between degradation and DNA-preservation and paved the way for molecular archaeology and the use of DNA in the analysis of archaeological data . HYPERLINK "http /www .mydropbox .com /template .php ?id 763295 " \t "_blank " This is the successful detection of intact genetic information in a 4000-year-old Egyptian mummy (Kiesslich , n .d

Furthermore , the invention of analytical methods in molecular biology boosted the field of molecular archaeology . HYPERLINK "http /www .mydropbox .com /template .php ?id 763295 " \t "_blank In 1988 , Mullis and Saiki published a study on...

11 pages

43.5 KB

Free sing-up