Editing Archaeogenetics (section)

{{Short description|Application of the techniques of molecular population genetics to the study of the human past}}
'''Archaeogenetics''' is the study of [[ancient DNA]] using various [[Molecular genetics|molecular genetic]] methods and DNA resources. This form of [[genetic analysis]] can be applied to human, animal, and plant specimens. Ancient DNA can be extracted from various [[Fossil|fossilized]] specimens including bones, eggshells, and artificially preserved tissues in human and animal specimens. In plants, ancient DNA can be extracted from seeds and tissue. Archaeogenetics provides us with genetic evidence of ancient population group migrations,<ref name=":1"/> [[domestication]] events, and plant and animal evolution.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bouwman|first1=Abigail|last2=Rühli|first2=Frank|title=Archaeogenetics in evolutionary medicine|journal=Journal of Molecular Medicine|volume=94|issue=9|pages=971–77|doi=10.1007/s00109-016-1438-8|pmid=27289479|year=2016|s2cid=10223726}}</ref> The ancient DNA cross referenced with the DNA of relative modern genetic populations allows researchers to run comparison studies that provide a more complete analysis when ancient DNA is compromised.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Csákyová|first1=Veronika|last2=Szécsényi-Nagy|first2=Anna|last3=Csősz|first3=Aranka|last4=Nagy|first4=Melinda|last5=Fusek|first5=Gabriel|last6=Langó|first6=Péter|last7=Bauer|first7=Miroslav|last8=Mende|first8=Balázs Gusztáv|last9=Makovický|first9=Pavol|date=2016-03-10|title=Maternal Genetic Composition of a Medieval Population from a Hungarian-Slavic Contact Zone in Central Europe|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=11|issue=3|pages=e0151206|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0151206|pmid=26963389|issn=1932-6203|bibcode=2016PLoSO..1151206C|pmc=4786151|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Archaeogenetics receives its name from the Greek word ''arkhaios'', meaning "ancient", and the term ''genetics'', meaning "the study of heredity".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=archaeo|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|website=www.etymonline.com|language=en|access-date=2017-08-08}}</ref> The term archaeogenetics was conceived by archaeologist [[Colin Renfrew]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sokal|first=Robert R.|date=July 2001|title=Archaeogenetics: DNA and the Population Prehistory of Europe.|journal=American Journal of Human Genetics|volume=69|issue=1|pages=243–44|issn=0002-9297|pmc=1226043|doi=10.1086/321274}}</ref>

In February 2021, scientists reported the oldest [[DNA]] ever [[DNA sequencing|sequenced]] was successfully retrieved from a [[mammoth]] dating back over a million years.<ref name="CNN-20210217">{{cite news |last=Hunt |first=Katie |title=World's oldest DNA sequenced from a mammoth that lived more than a million years ago |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/17/world/mammoth-oldest-dna-million-years-ago-scn/index.html |date=17 February 2021 |work=[[CNN|CNN News]] |accessdate=17 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="NAT-20210217">{{cite journal |last=Callaway |first=Ewen |title=Million-year-old mammoth genomes shatter record for oldest ancient DNA - Permafrost-preserved teeth, up to 1.6 million years old, identify a new kind of mammoth in Siberia. |date=17 February 2021 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=590 |issue=7847 |pages=537–538 |doi=10.1038/d41586-021-00436-x |pmid=33597786 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021Natur.590..537C }}</ref>