Biomolecular Archaeology investigates how biomolecular evidence (DNA, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates) can be used to address important archaeological questions. Terry Brown and Keri Brown describe this remarkable revolution in the study of historic and prehistoric biological materials, and provide the fundamental tools for studying the preserved or ‘ancient’ biomolecules recovered from human, plant, and animal remains.
A clear guide for students and an excellent resource for researchers, Biomolecular Archaeology illustrates a variety of analytical techniques taken from evolutionary biology, such as PCR, proteomics, and image analysis; and from chemistry, such as mass spectrometry and isotope analysis. With this new array of DNA evidence, the authors demonstrate how researchers can recover valuable information about the evolution of human societies and the environments in which we live.
