Extracting DNA from Pleistocene osseous artifacts

Outside of rare burial contexts, it is impossible to assign objects in the Palaeolithic archeological record to specific individuals. Here we present a non-destructive method for gradually releasing DNA from ancient bone and tooth artefacts. Application of the method to an Upper Palaeolithic deer tooth pendant from Denisova Cave (Russia) resulted in the recovery of DNA from both the deer and a female human individual. Genetic dates obtained from the deer and human mitochondrial genomes estimate the age of the pendant at approximately 20,000 to 24,000 years. Nuclear DNA from its presumed maker or wearer shows strong affinities to contemporaneous Ancient North Eurasian individuals previously found further east in Siberia. Our work opens up new possibilities for linking cultural and genetic records in prehistoric archaeology