Tiny traces of DNA found in cave dust may unlock secret life of Neanderthals | Archaeology | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/may/16/tiny-traces-of-dna-found-in-cave-dust-may-unlock-secret-life-of-neander
The discovery is the first important demonstration of a powerful new technique that allows researchers to study DNA recovered from cave sediments. No fossils or stone tools are needed for such studies. Instead, minuscule traces of genetic material that have accumulated in the dust of a cavern floor are employed to reveal ancient secrets.“The potential of this technology is fantastic,” said Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum, London.
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“You don’t need to have a stone tool or a fossil bone to find out if an ancient human had lived or worked at a site. All you need is the DNA that they left behind in the debris of their cave homes. That has enormous implications for all sorts of investigations.”
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“Galería de las Estatuas is a well-studied cave in which we have clear evidence of Neanderthals having lived there for tens of thousands of years,” said Max Planck researcher Benjamin Vernot, who led the investigation. “We don’t think they buried their dead there but we do believe they may have butchered meat there. Occasionally, they would have cut themselves and would have bled on the cave floor. Similarly, their babies would have deposited excrement there and so left their DNA behind.”