在5700年前的口香糖中发现的DNA有助于重现石器时代女性的形象

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have extracted a complete human genome from a chewed piece of birch pitch from the Stone Age.

哥本哈根大学的研究人员从一块咀嚼过的石器时代的桦树沥青中提取了完整的人类基因组。

Artistic reconstruction of the person behind the ancient gum, whom researchers have dubbed Lola. (Photo: Tom Björklund)

A team of archaeologists found this form of "chewing gum" during an excavation on Lolland, an island in Denmark. The DNA within it has lasted more than 5,700 years, and researchers are calling it an untapped source of ancient DNA.

一组考古学家在丹麦的Lolland岛上挖掘时发现了这种“口香糖”。其中的DNA已经存在了5700多年，研究人员称其为古代DNA的未开发来源。

This is the first time an entire ancient human genome has been extracted from anything other than bones. The research results were recently published in Nature Communications.

这是第一次从骨头以外的物质中提取出完整的古人类基因组。研究结果最近发表在《自然通讯》杂志上。

"It is amazing to have gotten a complete ancient human genome from anything other than bone," said Hannes Schroeder, associate professor at the Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, who led the research. "What is more, we also retrieved DNA from oral microbes and several important human pathogens, which makes this a very valuable source of ancient DNA, especially for time periods where we have no human remains."

哥本哈根大学地球研究所的副教授汉内斯·施罗德领导了这项研究。“更重要的是，我们还从口腔微生物和几种重要的人类病原体中提取了DNA，这使得它成为一个非常有价值的古代DNA来源，尤其是在我们没有人类遗体的时期。”

Piece of birch pitch from Syltholm, southern Denmark. (Photo: Theis Jensen)

Based on the genome, researchers determined that the "gum chewer" was a female with dark skin, dark hair and blue eyes.

根据基因组，研究人员确定“嚼口香糖的人”是一位有着深色皮肤、深色头发和蓝色眼睛的女性。

They nicknamed her "Lola" and could tell she was closely related to hunter-gatherers from the mainland Europe rather than those who lived in central Scandinavia.

他们给她起了个外号叫“罗拉”，并能看出她与欧洲大陆的狩猎采集者关系密切，而不是与斯堪的纳维亚半岛中部的居民关系密切。

The discovery of the birch pitch occurred at an excavation in Syltholm, carried out by the Museum Lolland-Falster in relation to the construction of the Fehmarn tunnel.

桦木沥青的发现发生在Syltholm的一次挖掘中，由Lolland-Falster博物馆进行，与Fehmarn隧道的建设有关。

"Syltholm is completely unique. Almost everything is sealed in mud, which means that the preservation of organic remains is absolutely phenomenal," said Theis Jensen, who worked on the study and participated in the excavations. He is doing postdoctoral research at the Globe Institute. "It is the biggest Stone Age site in Denmark and the archaeological finds suggest that the people who occupied the site were heavily exploiting wild resources well into the Neolithic, which is the period when farming and domesticated animals were first introduced into southern Scandinavia."

“Syltholm是完全独特的。几乎所有的东西都是密封在泥土里的，这意味着有机遗骸的保存绝对是惊人的。他在全球研究所做博士后研究。“这是丹麦最大的石器时代遗址，考古发现表明，占据该遗址的人在新石器时代就开始大量开发野生资源，这是农耕和驯养动物首次被引入斯堪的纳维亚半岛南部的时期。”

Results from the DNA showed that Lola was likely consuming plants and animals like hazelnut and duck as part of her normal diet.

DNA检测结果显示，罗拉很可能把吃榛子和鸭子等动植物作为日常饮食的一部分。

In the Stone Age, birch pitch was not only used as chewing gum, but also as an all-purpose glue for hafting stone tools, according to the research. It may have even been used to relieve toothaches.

研究表明，在石器时代，桦木不仅被用作口香糖，还被用作制作石器的万能胶。它甚至可能被用来缓解牙痛。

In addition, the researchers were able to extract bacteria from the DNA, which included many commensal species and opportunistic pathogens.

此外，研究人员能够从DNA中提取细菌，其中包括许多共生物种和条件致病菌。

They even found remnants of the Epstein-Barr virus, which is known to cause infectious mononucleosis or glandular fever.

他们甚至发现了爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒的残余，这种病毒已知会引起传染性单核细胞增多症或腺热。

"It can help us understand how pathogens have evolved and spread over time, and what makes them particularly virulent in a given environment," said Schroeder. " At the same time, it may help predict how a pathogen will behave in the future, and how it might be contained or eradicated."

施罗德说:“它可以帮助我们了解病原体是如何进化和传播的，以及在特定的环境中，是什么使它们特别具有毒性。”“与此同时，它可能有助于预测未来病原体的行为，以及如何控制或消灭它。”