Heritage Cases

Exploratory DNA analysis of 6 faunal fragments from Klasies River. Sarah Wurz (Wits, South Africa) in collaboration with Mattias Jakobsson(Uppsala University, Sweden), Helena Malmström (Uppsala University, Sweden), Carina Schlebusch (Uppsala University, Sweden), Himla Soodyall (Wits, South Africa), Bernhard Zipfel (Wits, South Africa), Marlize Lombard (University of Johannesburg, South Africa). Klasies River and DNA analysis The Klasies River site (34,06°S, 24,24°E), on the southern Cape Tsitsikamma coast, preserves the remnants of a large shell midden of over 20 m that formed in and against two caves (1 and 2) and two overhangs (1A and 1B) (Singer and Wymer 1982; Deacon & Geleijnse, 1988). This midden dates to between 115 000 and 60 000 years ago and all of the depositional layers evidence intensive coastal resource exploitation. Terrestrial animals were utilized in addition to shellfish, fish and plant materials in the form of geophytes (Voigt, 1982; Klein, 1976; Deacon, 1995; Thackeray, 1988; Van den Driesch, 2004). These subsistence traces are associated with abundant stone artefacts, modified ochre and hearth features. The majority of the Klasies River assemblage date to >70 000 years ago. Further analyses and discussion of the remains from Klasies River from these MIS 5 layers hold much promise for developing new insights into the behavior of populations from this crucial period in human evolution (Wurz 2012, 2013). It is in this age range that DNA technology is developing new techniques for extracting DNA. Since 2008 a number of papers have published results of successful DNA exctraction, for example on sequencing genomes of Neanderthals (Green et al. 2008) and Denisovans (Reich et al. 2010). Newly developed techniques have also been successfully applied to sequence the genomes of Neolithic individuals from Scandinavia (Skoglund et al. 2012) and the genome of a prehistoric individual from Greenland (Rasmussen et al. 2010). DNA analysis of faunal material isolated more ancient DNA, for example from cave bears (Valdiosera et al. 2006), from woolly mammoth (Gilbert et al. 2008), and from horse (Orlando et al. 2013). This proposal involves faunal material from Klasies River. The Jakobsson Laboratory at Uppsala University, Sweden, has recently developed specific bioinformatic techniques to authenticate ancient DNA (Skoglund et al. 2012). Whereas there is much interest in identifying ancient DNA from humans, for example to learn about population movements by quantify population continuity, identify large-scale population turnover and admixture, and assessing genetic variability of humans in pre-historic times, working on less sensitive material provides an excellent opportunity to understand how post depositional processes affected the preservation of DNA in assemblages older than 70 000 years ago, from a coastal cave context. Project proposal It is proposed to export 6 faunal fragments from Klasies River, Cave 1, SAS member, for DNA extraction (Figures 1-6). The analysis will be undertaken in collaboration with Prof Mattias Jakobsson and the Jakobsson Laboratory, Human Population Genetics Group, Uppsala University, Sweden (http://www.ebc.uu.se/Jakobsson/). The specimens were accessed during recent sampling activities at the site, and eroded out from the Witness Baulk. The material from Klasies River is curated by Iziko Museums. The procedure to be used result in minimal alteration of the fragments as a small (2x2 cm) piece of bone will be removed. In the case of five of the fragments that are undiagnostic the placement of sampling is not that crucial, but the one tooth (Figure 6) will be sampled from the least diagnostic part. Three samples from each specimen will be taken to allow replication of results. Approximately 100 mg of bone powder is needed from the tooth and between 200-400 mg of bone powder is needed from bones.