Abstract
We are currently investigating the phenomenon of DNA decay in human bone with the aim of understanding the precise role played by environmental factors such as the action of soil bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. With this in view, we sampled a group of 32 human femurs dating back to 1800 ad and submitted them to a series of analyses to check the following parameters: state of preservation of collagen; racemization of aspartic acid; state of preservation of mitochondrial DNA; presence of bacterial DNA; presence of the DNA of lower eukaryotes. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that most of the endogenous human DNA vanishes long before the bone structure undergoes extensive diagenesis and soil microorganisms penetrate in a massive way.
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