Current trends in ancient dna study: Beyond human migration in and around Europe

Abstract

The field of archaeogenetics, a study of DNA sequences from ancient biological remains, has experienced an explosive growth during the last decade. By exploiting genome-scale information from ancient DNA, archaeogenetics has been providing critical insights into the past evolution history of humans and other species. In this chapter, I summarize a few of the key research questions in human archaeogenetics outside of European population history, focusing on recent progresses and remaining issues on them. Also, I highlight two research trends in the archaeogenetics of nonhuman organisms, one on the domesticated species and the other on wildlife. In both cases, mummified soft tissues have substantially contributed as a source of ancient DNA. Finally, I conclude the chapter with a prospect for the research trend of the next decade, highlighting technical advances in investigating the past with ancient biomolecules.