A group of geneticists and archeologists from Ireland, France, Iran, Germany, and Austria sequenced the DNA of 1,600-year-old sheep mummies discovered in an ancient Iranian salt mine, Chehrābād.
This unique specimen has revealed ancient Near Eastern sheep husbandry techniques and demonstrates how natural mummification might impact DNA degradation. The fantastic discoveries were just published in the peer-reviewed international journal Biology Letters.
"The DNA's remarkable integrity was unlike anything we'd seen before in ancient bones and teeth." This DNA retention, along with the metagenomic profile's uniqueness, demonstrates how important the environment is to tissue and DNA degradation dynamics.
The work was overseen by Dr. Kevin G Daly, also of Trinity's School of Genetics and Microbiology. "Our team managed to construct a genetic picture of what sheep breeds in Iran may have looked like and how they may have been utilized 1,600 years ago using a mix of genomic and microscopic methods," he continued.
"We may learn about what ancient societies valued in animals by using cross-disciplinary techniques, and our study informs us that the inhabitants of Sasanian-era Iran may have maintained flocks of sheep specialized for meat consumption, implying well-developed husbandry practices."
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