Orin C. Shanks, M. Kornfeld, W. Ream
Nov 1, 2004
Citations
1
Influential Citations
23
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Journal
Archaeometry
Abstract
Traces of protein and DNA are preserved on stone tools used to process animals. Previous research documents the identification of protein residues from tools sonicated in 5% ammonium hydroxide, but it remains untested whether the same treatment yields useable DNA. In this study we report both DNA and protein recovery using 5% ammonium hydroxide from residues on stone tools. We extracted 13-year-old residues from experimentally manufactured stone tools used to butcher a single animal. We also show that surface washing procedures typically used to curate stone tools remove only a small fraction of the DNA and protein deposited during animal butchery.