It appears you don't have support to open PDFs in this web browser. To view this file, Open with your PDF reader
Abstract
The recent development of techniques to sequence ancient DNA has provided valuable insights into the civilisations that came before us. However, the full potential of these methods has yet to be realised. We extracted ancient DNA from a recently exposed fracture surface of a clay brick deriving from the palace of king Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE) in Nimrud, Iraq. We detected 34 unique taxonomic groups of plants. With this research we have made the pioneering discovery that ancient DNA, effectively protected from contamination inside a mass of clay, can successfully be extracted from a 2900-year-old clay brick. We encourage future research into this subject, as the scientific prospects for this approach are substantial, potentially leading to a deeper understanding of ancient and lost civilisations.
You have requested "on-the-fly" machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation. Show full disclaimer
Neither ProQuest nor its licensors make any representations or warranties with respect to the translations. The translations are automatically generated "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" and are not retained in our systems. PROQUEST AND ITS LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES FOR AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Your use of the translations is subject to all use restrictions contained in your Electronic Products License Agreement and by using the translation functionality you agree to forgo any and all claims against ProQuest or its licensors for your use of the translation functionality and any output derived there from. Hide full disclaimer
Details
1 University of Copenhagen, Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark (GRID:grid.5254.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 0674 042X); University of Oxford, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Oxford, UK (GRID:grid.4991.5) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8948); Linacre College, Oxford, UK (GRID:grid.4991.5) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8948)
2 Linacre College, Oxford, UK (GRID:grid.4991.5) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8948); University of Oxford, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Biology, Abingdon, UK (GRID:grid.4991.5) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8948); Aalborg University, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg, Denmark (GRID:grid.5117.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 0742 471X)
3 Aalborg University, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg, Denmark (GRID:grid.5117.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 0742 471X)
4 National Museum of Denmark, Modern History and World Cultures, Copenhagen, Denmark (GRID:grid.425566.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2254 6512)
5 Aalborg University, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg, Denmark (GRID:grid.5117.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 0742 471X); Aalborg Zoo, Aalborg, Denmark (GRID:grid.5117.2) (ISNI:0000 0005 0272 4878)