This is the blog for GW students taking Human Evolutionary Genetics. This site is for posting interesting tidbits on: the patterns and processes of human genetic variation;human origins and migration; molecular adaptations to environment, lifestyle and disease; ancient and forensic DNA analyses; and genealogical reconstructions.

GWHEG figure

GWHEG figure

Friday, October 23, 2015

Sedimentary Ancien DNA and the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition

An article published earlier this year in the journal Science described a new discovery that changed the archeological community's perception of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Britain. Sedimentary Ancient DNA (sedaDNA) analyses of marine sediment cores revealed traces of wheat dating to 8000 year BP. Wheat is a domesticated plant typically associated with the Neolithic revolution. This finding is surprising, considering that archeological evidence suggests that the Neolithic started on the contient around 7500 BP. The authors suggest that the presence of wheat in Britain could be the result of commercial exchanges with the people of South-Eastern Europe, suggesting more complex networks than previously thought.
The Neolithic revolution is similarly associated with the domestication of animals

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