Methodological strategies to assess the degree of bone preservation for ancient DNA studies.

Background: Archaeological bones contain only small amounts of DNA due to post-mortem DNA degradation and the changes endogenous DNA is subjected to during diagenesis. An important step before undertaking such time-consuming and costly analyses as ancient DNA investigation is to predict the presence of DNA in ancient samples. To date, the leading screening method has been amino acid racemization; however, other analytical techniques can also be used to assess the degree of bone preservation.

Stable isotopic evidence for diet at the Imperial Roman coastal site of Velia (1st and 2nd centuries AD) in Southern Italy.

Here we report on a stable isotope palaeodietary study of a Imperial Roman population interred near the port of Velia in Southern Italy during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses were performed on collagen extracted from 117 adult humans as well as a range of fauna to reconstruct individual dietary histories. For the majority of individuals, we found that stable isotope data were consistent with a diet high in cereals, with relatively modest contributions of meat and only minor contributions of marine fish.