Ancient DNA Identification of Salmon Remains
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Abstract
Identifying the species of animals represented by zooarchaeological remains is essential in studying past human and animal interactions. Salmon bones are tiny and often fragmented in archaeological contexts, causing difficulty in determining identification to the species level using only the morphological approach. Salmon harvesting practices can be illuminated through the identification of salmon species using ancient DNA (aDNA). This pilot study analyzed aDNA from eight vertebral salmon bone samples that were excavated, in north-central British Columbia, from conditions promoting excellent DNA preservation. These samples were prepared through various laboratory processes in order to clean and extract ancient DNA, which involved procedures that were conducted according to protocols to minimize as much contamination as possible. Sequence results were aligned and two phylogenetic trees were constructed using cytochrome b and D-loop (control region) sequences. Both phylogenetic trees showed consistent results. Current phylogenetic analysis reveals that of the eight samples, seven clustered with sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and one clustered with chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytcha), demonstrating that ancient DNA analysis can serve as a powerful tool in providing an important line of evidence that helps to identify ancient fish remains and to reconstruct past fishery strategy. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences (cytochrome b and D-loop control region) were successfully recovered from all ancient remains, indicating a promising preservation condition for further studies.
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