Fecal lipid markers in tandem with ancient sedimentary DNA as a tool for tracing past livestock farming from soils and sediments
Reconstructing past environments can be challenging when archaeological materials are missing. The study of organic molecules, which remain as traces in the environment over millennia, represents one way to overcome this drawback. Fecal lipid markers (steroids and bile acids) and ancient sedimentary...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fearc.2025.1544307/full |
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| author | Sabine Fiedler Sascha Scherer Ben Krause-Kyora |
| author_facet | Sabine Fiedler Sascha Scherer Ben Krause-Kyora |
| author_sort | Sabine Fiedler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reconstructing past environments can be challenging when archaeological materials are missing. The study of organic molecules, which remain as traces in the environment over millennia, represents one way to overcome this drawback. Fecal lipid markers (steroids and bile acids) and ancient sedimentary DNA offer a complementary and cross-validating analytical tool to broaden the range of methods used in environmental archaeology. However, little is known about the benefits of combining these two approaches. We present a brief overview of the current state of knowledge on fecal lipid markers and ancient sedimentary DNA. We identify scientific and methodological gaps and suggest their potential relevance for a better understanding of dynamic, human-animal relationships of the past. With this review, we aim to facilitate new research avenues, both in established disciplines and in conjunction with analytical approaches that have rarely been combined to date. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c66dc8f17d8d4e21b60304f89159d5fc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2813-432X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj-art-c66dc8f17d8d4e21b60304f89159d5fc2025-02-06T07:09:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology2813-432X2025-02-01410.3389/fearc.2025.15443071544307Fecal lipid markers in tandem with ancient sedimentary DNA as a tool for tracing past livestock farming from soils and sedimentsSabine Fiedler0Sascha Scherer1Ben Krause-Kyora2Institute of Geography, University of Mainz, Mainz, GermanyInstitute of Geography, University of Mainz, Mainz, GermanyInstitute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Kiel, GermanyReconstructing past environments can be challenging when archaeological materials are missing. The study of organic molecules, which remain as traces in the environment over millennia, represents one way to overcome this drawback. Fecal lipid markers (steroids and bile acids) and ancient sedimentary DNA offer a complementary and cross-validating analytical tool to broaden the range of methods used in environmental archaeology. However, little is known about the benefits of combining these two approaches. We present a brief overview of the current state of knowledge on fecal lipid markers and ancient sedimentary DNA. We identify scientific and methodological gaps and suggest their potential relevance for a better understanding of dynamic, human-animal relationships of the past. With this review, we aim to facilitate new research avenues, both in established disciplines and in conjunction with analytical approaches that have rarely been combined to date.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fearc.2025.1544307/fullpast livestock farmingarchaeologysteroidsbile acidssedDNA |
| spellingShingle | Sabine Fiedler Sascha Scherer Ben Krause-Kyora Fecal lipid markers in tandem with ancient sedimentary DNA as a tool for tracing past livestock farming from soils and sediments Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology past livestock farming archaeology steroids bile acids sedDNA |
| title | Fecal lipid markers in tandem with ancient sedimentary DNA as a tool for tracing past livestock farming from soils and sediments |
| title_full | Fecal lipid markers in tandem with ancient sedimentary DNA as a tool for tracing past livestock farming from soils and sediments |
| title_fullStr | Fecal lipid markers in tandem with ancient sedimentary DNA as a tool for tracing past livestock farming from soils and sediments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fecal lipid markers in tandem with ancient sedimentary DNA as a tool for tracing past livestock farming from soils and sediments |
| title_short | Fecal lipid markers in tandem with ancient sedimentary DNA as a tool for tracing past livestock farming from soils and sediments |
| title_sort | fecal lipid markers in tandem with ancient sedimentary dna as a tool for tracing past livestock farming from soils and sediments |
| topic | past livestock farming archaeology steroids bile acids sedDNA |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fearc.2025.1544307/full |
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