Ancient DNA from Texas pictographs
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Three to four thousand year old DNA in Pecos River style pictographs was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and phylogenetic analysis. We sequenced a 106 base-pair (bp) fragment from the highly conservative histone 4 gene, assessing potential contamination by using negative controls (no DNA) and positive controls (known DNA). The pictograph sequence was compared to sequences from vegetable and animal "carriers" that could have been used to bind the pigment to the rock. The analysis revealed the use of an organic binder/vehicle derived from a mammal, probably an ungulate of the Order Artiodactyla. 1996 Academic Press Limited.