THE BIOCHEMISTRY OF ANCIENT DNA IN BANE

The amount of DNA in ancient bone was determined by ethidium bromide s taining after the removal of the potent Tag inhibitor, fulvic acid. A complete decalcification and a perfusion protocol were used to recover DNA from bone. A variety of purification techniques including molecul ar sieve, hydroxyapatite binding and 'Magic' preparations yielded DNA that spanned from 3.4 mu g/g of bone to below detectable limits. Fulvi c acid was shown to interfere with the quantification of DNA derived f rom ancient human skeletal material one hundred to over seven thousand years old. Scanning UV in the 300 to 230 nm range is a simple and sen sitive technique for documenting fulvic acid contamination in ancient bone extracts.