Exploring the potential of dental calculus to shed light on past human migrations in Oceania

Irina M. Velsko; Zandra Fagernäs; Monica Tromp; Stuart Bedford; Hallie R. Buckley; Geoffrey Clark; John Dudgeon; James Flexner; Jean-Christophe Galipaud; Rebecca Kinaston; Cecil M. Lewis; Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith; Kathrin Nägele; Andrew T. Ozga; Cosimo Posth; Adam B. Rohrlach; Richard Shing; Truman Simanjuntak; Matthew Spriggs; Anatauarii Tamarii; Frédérique Valentin; Edson Willie; Christina Warinner

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-53920-z

Nature Communications (Nov 2024)

Exploring the potential of dental calculus to shed light on past human migrations in Oceania

Irina M. Velsko,
Zandra Fagernäs,
Monica Tromp,
Stuart Bedford,
Hallie R. Buckley,
Geoffrey Clark,
John Dudgeon,
James Flexner,
Jean-Christophe Galipaud,
Rebecca Kinaston,
Cecil M. Lewis,
Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith,
Kathrin Nägele,
Andrew T. Ozga,
Cosimo Posth,
Adam B. Rohrlach,
Richard Shing,
Truman Simanjuntak,
Matthew Spriggs,
Anatauarii Tamarii,
Frédérique Valentin,
Edson Willie,
Christina Warinner

Affiliations

Irina M. Velsko: Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Zandra Fagernäs: Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Monica Tromp: Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology
Stuart Bedford: Department of Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University
Hallie R. Buckley: Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago
Geoffrey Clark: Department of Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University
John Dudgeon: Department of Anthropology, Idaho State University
James Flexner: Archaeology, School of Humanities, University of Sydney
Jean-Christophe Galipaud: Research Institute for Development and National Museum of Natural History
Rebecca Kinaston: BioArch South
Cecil M. Lewis: Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma
Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith: Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago
Kathrin Nägele: Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Andrew T. Ozga: Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, Nova Southeastern University
Cosimo Posth: Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Adam B. Rohrlach: Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Richard Shing: Vanuatu Cultural Centre
Truman Simanjuntak: National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology
Matthew Spriggs: Vanuatu Cultural Centre
Anatauarii Tamarii: Direction de la Culture et du Patrimoine
Frédérique Valentin: CNRS UMR 8068, MSH Mondes
Edson Willie: Vanuatu Cultural Centre
Christina Warinner: Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53920-z
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 17

Abstract

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Abstract The Pacific islands and Island Southeast Asia have experienced multiple waves of human migrations, providing a case study for exploring the potential of ancient microbiomes to study human migration. We perform a metagenomic study of archaeological dental calculus from 102 individuals, originating from 10 Pacific islands and 1 island in Island Southeast Asia spanning ~3000 years. Oral microbiome DNA preservation in calculus is far higher than that of human DNA in archaeological bone, and comparable to that of calculus from temperate regions. Oral microbial community composition is minimally driven by time period and geography in Pacific and Island Southeast Asia calculus, but is found to be distinctive compared to calculus from Europe, Africa, and Asia. Phylogenies of individual bacterial species in Pacific and Island Southeast Asia calculus reflect geography. Archaeological dental calculus shows good preservation in tropical regions and the potential to yield information about past human migrations, complementing studies of the human genome.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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