ABOVE: Willandra Elders visiting the ancient DNA laboratory
DR. RENEE CHAPMAN
The bones of hundreds, or even possibly thousands, of indigenous Australians remain in museums worldwide, shipped off after European colonization. Descendants who want these remains returned often face difficulty in proving their origins. DNA could help identify the communities to which they belong, researchers reported yesterday (December 19) in Science Advances.
Mining ancient DNA for links to living people can be tricky—DNA degrades over time and colonialism may have disrupted family ties when indigenous peoples were removed from their land, making it more difficult to know where to look for descendants, Science reports. In addition, many culturally indigenous people have large amounts of DNA from European ancestors.
Scientists from Griffith University in Australia analyzed genetic material from the remains of 27 Aboriginal people. Because these remains had all been repatriated previously or unearthed directly, their origins were known. The researchers ...
