Identifying a living great-grandson of the Lakota Sioux leader Tatanka Iyotake (Sitting Bull).

A great-grandson of the legendary Lakota Sioux leader Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotake), Ernie LaPointe, wished to have their familial relationship confirmed via genetic analysis, in part, to help settle concerns over Sitting Bull’s final resting place. To address Ernie LaPointe’s claim of family relationship, we obtained minor amounts of genomic data from a small piece of hair from Sitting Bull’s scalp lock, which was repatriated in 2007. We then compared these data to genome-wide data from LaPointe and other Lakota Sioux using a new probabilistic approach and concluded that Ernie LaPointe is Sitting Bull’s great-grandson. To our knowledge, this is the first published example of a familial relationship between contemporary and a historical individual that has been confirmed using such limited amounts of ancient DNA across such distant relatives. Hence, this study opens the possibility for broadening genealogical research, even when only minor amounts of ancient genetic material are accessible

Ancient human genomes and environmental DNA from the cement attaching 2,000 year-old head lice nits

Over the past few decades there has been an increased demand for genome analysis of ancient human remains. Destructive sampling is increasingly difficult for ethical reasons, and previous methods of breaking the skull to access the petrous bone are often forbidden for curatorial reasons, together with teeth which may be missing or too precious to sample. However, most ancient humans carried head lice, and their eggs abound in historical hair specimens. Here we show that host DNA is protected by the cement that glues head lice eggs (nits) to the hair of ancient Argentinian mummies, 1,500–2,000 years old. The cement also preserves ancient environmental DNA of the skin, including the earliest recorded case of Merkel Cell Polyomavirus. We also show that human DNA obtained from nit cement can equal human genome assessment from tooth DNA, can increase assessment from petrous bone by two-fold, and by four-fold DNA over bloodmeal of adult lice a millennium younger. Genome-wide analyses from nit cement DNA also enables identification of the population genetic affinities of ancient humans. In metric studies of the sheaths, the length of the cement tube negatively correlated with the age of the specimens, while hair linear distance between nit and scalp informed about environmental conditions at the time before death. Ectoparasitic lice sheaths on hair, feathers, skins, or mummified remains can offer an alternative, non-destructive source of high-quality ancient DNA from a variety of host taxa and reveal details of their historical environment

Ancient Biomolecules and Evolutionary Inference

Over the past three decades, studies of ancient biomolecules—particularly ancient DNA, proteins, and lipids—have revolutionized our understand- ing of evolutionary history. Though initially fraught with many challenges, today the field stands on firm foundations. Researchers now successfully retrieve nucleotide and amino acid sequences, as well as lipid signatures, from progressively older samples, originating from geographic areas and depositional environments that, until recently, were regarded as hostile to long-term preservation of biomolecules. Sampling frequencies and the spa- tial and temporal scope of studies have also increased markedly, and with them the size and quality of the data sets generated. This progress has been made possible by continuous technical innovations in analytical methods, enhanced criteria for the selection of ancient samples, integrated experimental methods, and advanced computational approaches. Here, we discuss the history and current state of ancient biomolecule research, its applications to evolutionary inference, and future directions for this young and exciting field

3-D radar imaging unlocks the untapped behavioral and biomechanical archive of Pleistocene ghost tracks.

Footprint evidence of human-megafauna interactions remains extremely rare in the archaeological and palaeontological records. Recent work suggests ancient playa environments may hold such evidence, though the prints may not be visible. These so-called "ghost tracks" comprise a rich archive of biomechanical and behavioral data that remains mostly unexplored. Here we present evidence for the successful detection and 3-D imaging of such footprints via ground-penetrating radar (GPR), including co-associated mammoth and human prints. Using GPR we have found that track density and faunal diversity may be much greater than realized by the unaided human eye. Our data further suggests that detectable subsurface consolidation below mammoth tracks correlates with typical plantar pressure patterns from extant elephants. This opens future potential for more sophisticated biomechanical studies on the footprints of other extinct land vertebrates. Our approach allows rapid detection and documentation of footprints while enhancing the data available from these fossil archives

The first horse herders and the impact of early Bronze Age steppe expansions into Asia.

The Yamnaya expansions from the western steppe into Europe and Asia during the Early Bronze Age (~3000 BCE) are believed to have brought with them Indo-European languages and possibly horse husbandry. We analyzed 74 ancient whole-genome sequences from across Inner Asia and Anatolia and show that the Botai people associated with the earliest horse husbandry derived from a hunter-gatherer population deeply diverged from the Yamnaya. Our results also suggest distinct migrations bringing West Eurasian ancestry into South Asia before and after, but not at the time of, Yamnaya culture. We find no evidence of steppe ancestry in Bronze Age Anatolia from when Indo-European languages are attested there. Thus, in contrast to Europe, Early Bronze Age Yamnaya-related migrations had limited direct genetic impact in Asia

FrAnTK:a Frequency-based Analysis ToolKit for efficient exploration of allele sharing patterns in present-day and ancient genomic datasets

Present-day and ancient population genomic studies from different study organisms have rapidly become accessible to diverse research groups worldwide. Unfortunately, as datasets and analyses become more complex, researchers with less computational experience often miss their chance to analyze their own data. We introduce FrAnTK, a user-friendly toolkit for computation and visualization of allele frequency-based statistics in ancient and present-day genome variation datasets. We provide fast, memory-efficient tools that allow the user to go from sequencing data to complex exploratory analyses and visual representations with minimal data manipulation. Its simple usage and low computational requirements make FrAnTK ideal for users that are less familiar with computer programming carrying out large-scale population studies