E Willerslev
Biographic Data
| ID | 167999 |
|---|---|
| NAME | E Willerslev |
| GIVEN NAMES | E |
| FAMILY NAME | Willerslev |
| SIGNATURE | WILLERSLEV E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Copenhagen |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7081-6748 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 52 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 141 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 52 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
A Framework for Archaeological Involvement with Human Genetic Data for European Prehistory
A concern with ethics and commitments to ethical conduct and standards has increasingly been raised within archaeology, recently also concerning aDNA data. We suggest that codes, whether for working with ancient DNA or other archaeological practices, need to be multi-faceted, or layered, to reflect the different situational contexts of research. We further argue for a more reflexive text addressing “issues of attention” or “concerns.” We address …
Late Pleistocene Faunal Assemblages from Karst Cave Settings on Northern Vancouver Island, Canada
We present the results of our investigations in karst caves on northern Vancouver Island. This work focuses on late Pleistocene faunal remains and potential archaeological deposits. Our analyses of faunal remains from these caves reveal that a variety of animals have inhabited the region since the Last Glacial Maximum. Pleistocene taxa recovered include black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus), black bear (Ursus americanus), mountain goat (Oreamno…
Lake Sedimentary DNA Research on Past Terrestrial and Aquatic Biodiversity
The use of lake sedimentary DNA to track the long-term changes in both terrestrial and aquatic biota is a rapidly advancing field in paleoecological research. Although largely applied nowadays, knowledge gaps remain in this field and there is therefore still research to be conducted to ensure the reliability of the sedimentary DNA signal. Building on the most recent literature and seven original case studies, we synthesize the state-of-the-art an…
Chiquihuite Cave and America’s Hidden Limestone Industries
This paper is a reply to Chatters et al. (2021. “Evaluating Claims of Early Human Occupation at Chiquihuite Cave, Mexico.” PaleoAmerica 8, doi:10.1080/20555563.2021.1940441), in which they raise a large number of doubts about the legitimacy of our claims of earlier-than-expected human presence at Chiquihuite Cave, in northern Zacatecas, Mexico, mainly questioning the artificial nature of the lithic assemblage and the integrity of our geological c…
Population genomics of the Viking world
AMS dating and ancient DNA analysis of bone relics associated with St John the Baptist from Sveti Ivan (Sozopol, Bulgaria)
The population history of northeastern Siberia since the Pleistocene
Terminal Pleistocene Alaskan genome reveals first founding population of Native Americans
The prehistoric peopling of Southeast Asia
Ancient migrations in Southeast Asia The past movements and peopling of Southeast Asia have been poorly represented in ancient DNA studies (see the Perspective by Bellwood). Lipson et al. generated sequences from people inhabiting Southeast Asia from about 1700 to 4100 years ago. Screening of more than a hundred individuals from five sites yielded ancient DNA from 18 individuals. Comparisons with present-day populations suggest two waves of mixin…
Early human dispersals within the Americas
Complex processes in the settling of the Americas The expansion into the Americas by the ancestors of present day Native Americans has been difficult to tease apart from analyses of present day populations. To understand how humans diverged and spread across North and South America, Moreno-Mayar et al. sequenced 15 ancient human genomes from Alaska to Patagonia. Analysis of the oldest genomes suggests that there was an early split within Beringia…
Ancient human genomes from across the Eurasian steppes
Ancient genomes show social and reproductive behavior of early Upper Paleolithic foragers
How early human groups were organized Sequencing ancient hominid remains has provided insights into the relatedness between individuals. However, it is not clear whether ancient humans bred among close relatives, as is common in some modern human cultures. Sikora et al. report genome sequences from four early humans buried close together in western Russia about 34,000 years ago (see the Perspective by Bergström and Tyler-Smith). The individuals c…
Tracing the peopling of the world through genomics
Re-theorising mobility and the formation of culture and language among the Corded Ware Culture in Europe
Early Modern Humans from Tam Pà Ling, Laos
Despite the importance of its geographical position for early modern human migration through Australasia, the Indochinese Peninsula has produced relatively few fossils or well-documented archaeological sites, resulting in a poor chronology for early occupation. Tam Pà Ling (TPL), a cave in northern Laos, is one of the rare sites yielding fossils contemporaneous with the earliest migrants into Australasia within a securely established chronology. …
Postglacial viability and colonization in North America’s ice-free corridor
During the Last Glacial Maximum, continental ice sheets isolated Beringia (northeast Siberia and northwest North America) from unglaciated North America. By around 15 to 14 thousand calibrated radiocarbon years before present (cal. kyr bp), glacial retreat opened an approximately 1,500-km-long corridor between the ice sheets. It remains unclear when plants and animals colonized this corridor and it became biologically viable for human migration. …
A genomic history of Aboriginal Australia
The population history of Aboriginal Australians remains largely uncharacterized. Here we generate high-coverage genomes for 83 Aboriginal Australians (speakers of Pama–Nyungan languages) and 25 Papuans from the New Guinea Highlands. We find that Papuan and Aboriginal Australian ancestors diversified 25–40 thousand years ago (kya), suggesting pre-Holocene population structure in the ancient continent of Sahul (Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania).…
Younger Dryas Archaeology and Human Experience at the Paisley Caves in the Northern Great Basin
Tracing the dynamic life story of a Bronze Age Female
Ancient human mobility at the individual level is conventionally studied by the diverse application of suitable techniques (e.g. aDNA, radiogenic strontium isotopes, as well as oxygen and lead isotopes) to either hard and/or soft tissues. However, the limited preservation of coexisting hard and soft human tissues hampers the possibilities of investigating high-resolution diachronic mobility periods in the life of a single individual. Here, we pre…
Genomic evidence for the Pleistocene and recent population history of Native Americans
Genetic history of Native Americans Several theories have been put forth as to the origin and timing of when Native American ancestors entered the Americas. To clarify this controversy, Raghavan et al. examined the genomic variation among ancient and modern individuals from Asia and the Americas. There is no evidence for multiple waves of entry or recurrent gene flow with Asians in northern populations. The earliest migrations occurred no earlier…
Population genomics of Bronze Age Eurasia
The Bronze Age of Eurasia (around 3000–1000 BC) was a period of major cultural changes. However, there is debate about whether these changes resulted from the circulation of ideas or from human migrations, potentially also facilitating the spread of languages and certain phenotypic traits. We investigated this by using new, improved methods to sequence low-coverage genomes from 101 ancient humans from across Eurasia. We show that the Bronze Age w…
Early Divergent Strains of Yersinia pestis in Eurasia 5,000 Years Ago
The bacteria Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of plague and has caused human pandemics with millions of deaths in historic times. How and when it originated remains contentious. Here, we report the oldest direct evidence of Yersinia pestis identified by ancient DNA in human teeth from Asia and Europe dating from 2,800 to 5,000 years ago. By sequencing the genomes, we find that these ancient plague strains are basal to all known Yersinia p…
The ancestry and affiliations of Kennewick Man
Kennewick Man, a 8,500-year-old male human skeleton discovered in Washington state, USA, has been the subject of scientific and legal controversy; here a DNA analysis shows that Kennewick Man is closer to modern Native Americans than to any other extant population worldwide. Kennewick Man is a 9,000-year-old male human skeleton discovered in Washington state, USA in 1996. The population affinities of the remains have been the subject of scientifi…
Amplification of TruSeq ancient DNA libraries with AccuPrime Pfx
Recent developments in high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies have enabled the reconstruction of complete genome sequence and nucleosome and methylation maps from ancient individuals. A diversity of degradation reactions affect DNA molecules after an organism dies, introducing specific nucleotide misincorporation patterns in HTS data that are typically exploited to distinguish modern contaminants and authentic DNA templates. In this study,…
Radiocarbon dating of Sacred Ibis mummies from ancient Egypt
Re-theorising mobility and the formation of culture and language among the Corded Ware Culture in Europe
Early Modern Humans from Tam Pà Ling, Laos
Despite the importance of its geographical position for early modern human migration through Australasia, the Indochinese Peninsula has produced relatively few fossils or well-documented archaeological sites, resulting in a poor chronology for early occupation. Tam Pà Ling (TPL), a cave in northern Laos, is one of the rare sites yielding fossils contemporaneous with the earliest migrants into Australasia within a securely established chronology. …
Biochemical and physical correlates of DNA contamination in archaeological human bones and teeth excavated at Matera, Italy
Characterising the potential of sheep wool for ancient DNA analyses
The Farm Beneath the Sand' - an archaeological case study on ancient 'dirt' DNA
It is probable that 'The Farm Beneath the Sand' will come to stand for a revolution in archaeological investigation. The authors show that a core of soil from an open field can provide a narrative of grazing animals, human occupation and their departure, just using DNA and AMS dating. In this case the conventional archaeological remains were nearby, and the sequence obtained by the old methods of digging and faunal analysis correlated well with t…
Insights into the processes behind the contamination of degraded human teeth and bone samples with exogenous sources of DNA
A principal problem facing human DNA studies that use old and degraded remains is contamination from other sources of human DNA. In this study we have attempted to contaminate deliberately bones and teeth sampled from a medieval collection excavated in Trondheim, Norway, in order to investigate this poorly understood phenomenon. Five pairs of teeth and bone samples were bathed in water containing various concentrations (from 10−9 and 10−21 g/l) o…
MtDNA analysis of human remains from an early Danish Christian cemetery
One of Denmark's earliest Christian cemeteries is Kongemarken, dating to around AD 1000-1250. A feature of early Scandinavian Christian cemeteries is sex segregation, with females buried on the northern sides and males on the southern sides. However, such separation was never complete; in the few early Christian cemeteries excavated in Scandinavia, there were always a few males placed on the north side, and some females on the south side. At Kong…
A preliminary analysis of the DNA and diet of the extinct Beothuk
We have used a systematic protocol for extracting, quantitating, sexing and validating ancient human mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of one male and one female Beothuk, a Native American population from Newfoundland, which became extinct ∼180 years ago. They carried mtDNA haplotypes, which fall within haplogroups X and C, consistent with Northeastern Native populations today. In addition we have sexed the male using a novel‐sexing assay and confirm…
Major transitions in human evolution revisited
Recovery of DNA from archaeological insect remains
Late Pleistocene Faunal Assemblages from Karst Cave Settings on Northern Vancouver Island, Canada
We present the results of our investigations in karst caves on northern Vancouver Island. This work focuses on late Pleistocene faunal remains and potential archaeological deposits. Our analyses of faunal remains from these caves reveal that a variety of animals have inhabited the region since the Last Glacial Maximum. Pleistocene taxa recovered include black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus), black bear (Ursus americanus), mountain goat (Oreamno…
Chiquihuite Cave and America’s Hidden Limestone Industries
This paper is a reply to Chatters et al. (2021. “Evaluating Claims of Early Human Occupation at Chiquihuite Cave, Mexico.” PaleoAmerica 8, doi:10.1080/20555563.2021.1940441), in which they raise a large number of doubts about the legitimacy of our claims of earlier-than-expected human presence at Chiquihuite Cave, in northern Zacatecas, Mexico, mainly questioning the artificial nature of the lithic assemblage and the integrity of our geological c…
Radiocarbon dating of Sacred Ibis mummies from ancient Egypt
Living at the margin of the retreating Fennoscandian Ice Sheet
During an archaeological survey in Pajala parish, northernmost Sweden, clusters of quartz waste from knapping and burnt bone were discovered on a glaciofluvial gravel plateau close to Aareavaara village in the Muonio River valley. Sampled materials from a larger area and small-scale excavations (in total 6 m 2 ) are interpreted as resulting from short-stay hunter-gatherer camps. Radiocarbon dating on burnt bones suggest an age of occupancy at ~10…
A Framework for Archaeological Involvement with Human Genetic Data for European Prehistory
A concern with ethics and commitments to ethical conduct and standards has increasingly been raised within archaeology, recently also concerning aDNA data. We suggest that codes, whether for working with ancient DNA or other archaeological practices, need to be multi-faceted, or layered, to reflect the different situational contexts of research. We further argue for a more reflexive text addressing “issues of attention” or “concerns.” We address …
An improved PCR method for endogenous DNA retrieval in contaminated Neandertal samples based on the use of blocking primers
Rise and Fall of the Beringian Steppe Bison
The widespread extinctions of large mammals at the end of the Pleistocene epoch have often been attributed to the depredations of humans; here we present genetic evidence that questions this assumption. We used ancient DNA and Bayesian techniques to reconstruct a detailed genetic history of bison throughout the late Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. Our analyses depict a large diverse population living throughout Beringia until around 37,000 years…
Worldwide Phylogeography of Wild Boar Reveals Multiple Centers of Pig Domestication
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from 686 wild and domestic pig specimens place the origin of wild boar in island Southeast Asia (ISEA), where they dispersed across Eurasia. Previous morphological and genetic evidence suggested pig domestication took place in a limited number of locations (principally the Near East and Far East). In contrast, new genetic data reveal multiple centers of domestication across Eurasia and that European, rather tha…
Biochemical and physical correlates of DNA contamination in archaeological human bones and teeth excavated at Matera, Italy
MtDNA analysis of human remains from an early Danish Christian cemetery
One of Denmark's earliest Christian cemeteries is Kongemarken, dating to around AD 1000-1250. A feature of early Scandinavian Christian cemeteries is sex segregation, with females buried on the northern sides and males on the southern sides. However, such separation was never complete; in the few early Christian cemeteries excavated in Scandinavia, there were always a few males placed on the north side, and some females on the south side. At Kong…
Insights into the processes behind the contamination of degraded human teeth and bone samples with exogenous sources of DNA
A principal problem facing human DNA studies that use old and degraded remains is contamination from other sources of human DNA. In this study we have attempted to contaminate deliberately bones and teeth sampled from a medieval collection excavated in Trondheim, Norway, in order to investigate this poorly understood phenomenon. Five pairs of teeth and bone samples were bathed in water containing various concentrations (from 10−9 and 10−21 g/l) o…
A preliminary analysis of the DNA and diet of the extinct Beothuk
We have used a systematic protocol for extracting, quantitating, sexing and validating ancient human mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of one male and one female Beothuk, a Native American population from Newfoundland, which became extinct ∼180 years ago. They carried mtDNA haplotypes, which fall within haplogroups X and C, consistent with Northeastern Native populations today. In addition we have sexed the male using a novel‐sexing assay and confirm…
DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America
The timing of the first human migration into the Americas and its relation to the appearance of the Clovis technological complex in North America at about 11,000 to 10,800 radiocarbon years before the present ( 14 C years B.P.) remains contentious. We establish that humans were present at Paisley 5 Mile Point Caves, in south-central Oregon, by 12,300 14 C years B.P., through the recovery of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from coprolites, directl…
Ancient DNA Reveals Lack of Continuity between Neolithic Hunter-Gatherers and Contemporary Scandinavians
An improved PCR method for endogenous DNA retrieval in contaminated Neandertal samples based on the use of blocking primers
Recovery of DNA from archaeological insect remains
The Farm Beneath the Sand' - an archaeological case study on ancient 'dirt' DNA
It is probable that 'The Farm Beneath the Sand' will come to stand for a revolution in archaeological investigation. The authors show that a core of soil from an open field can provide a narrative of grazing animals, human occupation and their departure, just using DNA and AMS dating. In this case the conventional archaeological remains were nearby, and the sequence obtained by the old methods of digging and faunal analysis correlated well with t…
Ancient human genome sequence of an extinct Palaeo-Eskimo
We report here the genome sequence of an ancient human. Obtained from ∼4,000-year-old permafrost-preserved hair, the genome represents a male individual from the first known culture to settle in Greenland. Sequenced to an average depth of 20×, we recover 79% of the diploid genome, an amount close to the practical limit of current sequencing technologies. We identify 353,151 high-confidence single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), of which 6.8% hav…
Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans
Pre-Clovis Mastodon Hunting 13,800 Years Ago at the Manis Site, Washington
Further dating of the Manis site shows that people were hunting mastodons in North America by 14,000 years ago.
An Aboriginal Australian Genome Reveals Separate Human Dispersals into Asia
Whole-genome data indicate that early modern humans expanded into Australia 62,000 to 75,000 years ago.
Genetic evidence for patrilocal mating behavior among Neandertal groups
The remains of 12 Neandertal individuals have been found at the El Sidrón site (Asturias, Spain), consisting of six adults, three adolescents, two juveniles, and one infant. Archaeological, paleontological, and geological evidence indicates that these individuals represent all or part of a contemporaneous social group of Neandertals, who died at around the same time and later were buried together as a result of a collapse of an underground karst.…
Characterising the potential of sheep wool for ancient DNA analyses
Origins and Genetic Legacy of Neolithic Farmers and Hunter-Gatherers in Europe
Farmer Displaced European Hunters Our understanding of prehistoric demography and human evolution has been improved by analysis of ancient DNA. Skoglund et al. (p. 466) describe the retrieval and analysis of genomic DNA from ancient (~5000-year-old) northern European Neolithic individuals within modern Sweden. These include three hunter-gatherers from the Pitted Ware Culture horizon and one farmer ascribed to the Mid-Neolithic North-Central TRB c…
Clovis Age Western Stemmed Projectile Points and Human Coprolites at the Paisley Caves
They Walked Together Paisley Cave in Oregon provides some of the earliest evidence for humans in North America. Jenkins et al. (p. 223 ) provide a wide variety of additional evidence of early human occupation of this site, including a series of radiocarbon ages extending back to nearly 12,500 radiocarbon years ago (about 14,500 calendar years ago). The find includes examples of projectile points representative of the Western Stemmed Tradition dat…
Living at the margin of the retreating Fennoscandian Ice Sheet
During an archaeological survey in Pajala parish, northernmost Sweden, clusters of quartz waste from knapping and burnt bone were discovered on a glaciofluvial gravel plateau close to Aareavaara village in the Muonio River valley. Sampled materials from a larger area and small-scale excavations (in total 6 m 2 ) are interpreted as resulting from short-stay hunter-gatherer camps. Radiocarbon dating on burnt bones suggest an age of occupancy at ~10…
The genome of a Late Pleistocene human from a Clovis burial site in western Montana
The genetic prehistory of the New World Arctic
Arctic genetics comes in from the cold Despite a well-characterized archaeological record, the genetics of the people who inhabit the Arctic have been unexplored. Raghavan et al. sequenced ancient and modern genomes of individuals from the North American Arctic (see the Perspective by Park). Analyses of these genomes indicate that the Arctic was colonized 6000 years ago by a migration separate from the one that gave rise to other Native American …
Upper Palaeolithic Siberian genome reveals dual ancestry of Native Americans
Pathogens and host immunity in the ancient human oral cavity
Genomic Diversity and Admixture Differs for Stone-Age Scandinavian Foragers and Farmers
Hunters and Farmers The Neolithic period in Europe saw the transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to farming. Previous genetic analyses have suggested that hunter-gatherers were replaced by immigrant farmers. Skoglund et al. (p. 747 , published online 24 April) sequenced one Mesolithic and nine Neolithic Swedish individuals to examine the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers. Substantial genetic differentiation was observed between hu…
Geography (39 works) · Archaeology (35 works) · Biology (33 works) · Forensic and Genetic Research (32 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (25 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (23 works) · Evolutionary biology (20 works) · Ancient DNA (19 works) · Demography (19 works) · Population (19 works)