Doctoral Dissertation Research: Investigating patterns of genetic relatedness and social inequality using ancient DNA

社会经济不平等是现代社会非常关注的话题，对过去人口的研究可以揭示不平等的起源和发展。这个博士论文项目将分析库鲁布纳提(公元550-800年)努比亚遗址骨骼中的古代DNA(ADNA)，以更好地了解遗传关系、外貌、健康和社会经济不平等在过去是如何相互交织的。这个项目将提供一个基于DNA的框架，展示分子分析在探索社会分层根源方面的力量。学生共同派还将向小学适龄儿童及其家长开展科学教育外联活动，重点是了解人类生物多样性的生物文化方法。这个项目中使用的古代DNA方法将为未来DNA降解情况下的遗传相关性研究提供信息。这个项目是关于生物地理祖先和遗传关系是否与考古观察到的社会分层相一致的调查，这些社会分层是由拥有土地的农民组成的大陆社区和共存于苏丹努比亚遗址库鲁布纳尔蒂(公元550-800年)的“底层”劳工组成的岛屿社区之间的。为了确定Kulubnarti的社会等级是否与遗传上不同的亚群相关，该项目测试了一种假设，即岛上居民的“下层”地位反映了移民身份，而拥有土地的农民构成了更稳定的当地人口。调查人员将1)量化墓地群落之间的遗传距离；2)检查每个墓地群落内的内婚制；3)估计每个墓地个体的生物地理祖先和表型变异。在筛选了146个DNA文库后，将使用一系列约120万个单核苷酸多态(SNPs)来丰富和捕获30个DNA保存率最高的文库。结果将揭示库鲁布纳提社区内部和之间的遗传关系，将产生第一个来自努比亚的aDNA数据，并将整合遗传学和考古学数据，以检查过去社会组织的生物文化动态。

Socioeconomic inequality is a topic of great concern in modern society, and studies of past populations can shed light on the origins and development of inequality. This doctoral dissertation project will analyze ancient DNA (aDNA) from skeletons at the Nubian site of Kulubnarti (550-800 AD) to better understand how genetic relatedness, physical appearance, health, and socioeconomic inequality intersected in the past. This project will provide a DNA-based framework that demonstrates the power of molecular analyses for exploring the roots of social stratification. The student co-PI will also conduct science education outreach to elementary school-aged children and their parents, with a focus on biocultural approaches for understanding human biological diversity. Ancient DNA methods used in this project will inform future investigations of genetic relatedness in situations where DNA is degraded. This project is an investigation of whether biogeographic ancestry and genetic relationships align with archaeologically-observed social stratification between a mainland community of landowning farmers and an island community of "underclass" laborers living side-by-side at the Sudanese Nubian site of Kulubnarti (550-800 AD). To determine if social hierarchy at Kulubnarti correlates with genetically distinct subpopulations, this project tests the hypothesis that the "underclass" position of the islanders was a reflection of migrant status while the landowning farmers composed a more genetically stable local population. The investigators will 1) quantify genetic distance between cemetery communities; 2) examine endogamy within each cemetery community; and 3) estimate biogeographic ancestry and phenotypic variation of individuals from each cemetery. After screening 146 DNA libraries, 30 libraries that demonstrate the highest DNA preservation will be enriched and captured using an array of ~1.2 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The results will reveal the genetic relationships within and between Kulubnarti communities, will produce the first aDNA data from Nubia, and will integrate genetic and archaeological data to examine the biocultural dynamics of social organization in the past.