DNA | Modern, and Archaeology

Abstract

DNA sampled from present day populations can be analyzed to give information about population history, migrations and human evolution. Two areas of DNA have been the focus of intense study; mitochondrial DNA which is maternally inherited, and the non-recombining region of the Y chromosome DNA which is paternally inherited. This article concentrates on the contribution that mtDNA has made to understanding major events in human prehistory, notably the movement out of Africa by modern Homo sapiens (known as Out of Africa II), and the transition from the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition in Europe. Predictions could be made as to the genetic outcomes to be seen in present day populations, which could be tested by the genetic data. The importance of hypothesis testing in archaeological science is stressed in this article. In both cases the genetic evidence challenged the orthodox archaeological interpretation, however a more nuanced understanding has been achieved by reassessing and reconsidering both archaeological and genetic types of evidence. MtDNA supports the Out of Africa hypothesis and has been used to trace the southern route taken into the Old World by H. sapiens, while in Europe the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition is now being recognised as being a complex social event for which no one overarching explanation is sufficient. The movement of early agriculturalists from the Near East into Europe is now seen as a contributing factor for the spread of agriculture in some areas, whereas in other areas acculturation by Mesolithic gatherer/hunters accounts for the introduction of domesticates.