Bones and teeth are calcified tissues characterised by a complex hierarchical structure from the macro- to the nano-scale and mainly consist of mineral and organic phases 4, 5. Due to their unique informational value, for forensic/medical sciences, exhibition purposes, isotopic and evolutionary studies, such tissues are the most used sample source. In particular, the dense bone of the pars petrosa and of the tooth roots can provide a high concentration of endogenous ancient DNA (aDNA) 1, 2, 3. Osteoarchaeological remains are often the only remaining physical evidence of the presence of humans and animals, containing valuable biological information about the past. The predictive model based on Infrared parameters is effective in determining the occurrence of ancient DNA (aDNA) however, the quality/quantity of aDNA cannot be determined because of the influence of environmental and local factors experienced by the examined bones during the burial period. A minimally invasive sampling of archaeological bones was developed and bone structural and compositional changes were examined, linking isotopic and genetic data to infrared spectra. This approach could overcome the major problem of identifying useful genetic material in archaeological bone collections without resorting to demanding, time consuming and expensive laboratory studies. The main aim of this work is to survey skeletal tissues, specifically petrous bones and roots of teeth, using infrared spectroscopy as a prescreening method to assess the bone quality for molecular analyses. Viable protocols to help preserve these collections from exceedingly invasive analyses, would allow greater access to the specimens for scientific research. Following the development of modern genome sequencing technologies, the investigation of museum osteological finds is increasingly informative and popular.
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