Ancient human microbiomes

Very recently, we discovered a vast new microbial self: the human microbiome. Our native microbiota interface with our biology and culture to influence our health, behavior, and quality of life, and yet we know very little about their origin, evolution, or ecology. With the advent of industrializati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of human evolution 2015-02, Vol.79, p.125-136
Main Authors: Warinner, Christina, Speller, Camilla, Collins, Matthew J., Lewis, Cecil M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ancient DNA
Coprolite
Dental calculus
Dental Calculus - microbiology
Diet
Feces
Feces - microbiology
Health - history
High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
History, Ancient
Humans
Metagenomics
Metaproteomics
Microbiota
Paleontology
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Summary:Very recently, we discovered a vast new microbial self: the human microbiome. Our native microbiota interface with our biology and culture to influence our health, behavior, and quality of life, and yet we know very little about their origin, evolution, or ecology. With the advent of industrialization, globalization, and modern sanitation, it is intuitive that we have changed our relationship with microbes, but we have little information about the ancestral state of our microbiome, and we therefore lack a foundation for characterizing this change. High-throughput sequencing has opened up new opportunities in the field of paleomicrobiology, allowing us to investigate the evolution of the complex microbial ecologies that inhabit our bodies. By focusing on recent coprolite and dental calculus research, we explore how emerging research on ancient human microbiomes is changing the way we think about ancient disease and how archaeological studies can contribute to a medical understanding of health and nutrition today.
ISSN:0047-2484
1095-8606
DOI:10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.10.016