DNA Of An Ancient Woman Found In A 20,000-Year-Old Necklace Pendant

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An old woman who lived in Siberia approximately 20,000 years ago left a locket of genetic information in the shape of a pendant crafted from a deer tooth.
The amazing discovery raises the possibility that there are other untapped archaic artefacts comprised of tooth and bone that contain old genetic material.

An old woman who lived in Siberia approximately 20,000 years ago left a locket of genetic information in the shape of a pendant crafted from a deer tooth. No evidence of the woman herself has been found, other from the shards of her chromosomes, but the genes her perspiration and skin cells transferred to the pendant suggest she belonged to a prehistoric North Eurasian population from the Palaeolithic era.

In order to safely test ancient artefacts for environmental DNA without damaging them, evolutionary anthropologists at the Max Planck Institute in Germany developed a method that they applied to a piece of jewellery discovered in the renowned Denisova Cave in Russia in 2019.

The amazing discovery raises the possibility that there are other untapped archaic artefacts comprised of tooth and bone that contain old genetic material. They might very well conceal details about how our ancestors used, carried, or dressed certain items in the very distant past. Experts can now identify the presence of endangered populations that would otherwise be virtually impossible to follow using conventional methods using just a trace of genetic material.

Almost every living thing sheds cells and decomposes, leaving tiny dustings of DNA in its surroundings. These environmental DNA leftovers, also known as eDNA, have proven very easy for scientists to locate in the air and soil in recent years.

They can even find traces of extinct or long-gone creatures that have long since left a place. The oldest genetic material ever, dating back 2 million years, was successfully decoded by an international team of researchers using eDNA analysis in December 2022. With this most recent advancement in eDNA extraction, DNA fragments that are hidden inside porous artefacts like those made of bone or teeth are flushed out.

She was probably a lady because of the proportion of X chromosomes in her human DNA. The genomes most closely resembled two groups that lived farther east in Siberia between 17,000 and 24,000 years ago when compared to records of modern humans. The genetic makeup was most similar to Native Americans as compared to contemporary populations.

Furthermore, the pendant would have theoretically taken in the cells of this woman's skin, sweat, blood, or saliva over time, becoming a locket of her DNA without her even being aware of it, assuming she was the one who wore it as imagined.

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DNA Of An Ancient Woman Found In A 20,000-Year-Old Necklace Pendant

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