Researchers Identify Owner of Ancient Siberian Jewelry

A new way of pulling DNA¹ from soft materials such as bones, teeth and tusks² makes it easier for scientists to find out about objects made by ancient people.

As a result, researchers are working to learn about those who made and wore objects taken from a cave in what is now far eastern Russia.

Elena Essel is with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary³ Anthropology⁴ in Germany. She is the lead writer of a study recently published in the journal Nature. She and her team say they now know a lot about jewelry⁵ made 20,000 years ago -- and who wore it.

Essel is a molecular⁶ biologist. She called the old items, such as an animal's tooth with a hole punched through it, "extremely fascinating."

The scientists say a Stone Age woman wore the pendant. The piece of jewelry was carefully recovered from the Denisova Cave in Siberia.

The new way of looking at DNA permits researchers to link one item, such as a piece of jewelry, to one person. The researchers only know very basic things about the person beyond their DNA. The DNA comes from sweat, bodily fluids or skin cells.

They study the DNA at a lab in Leipzig, Germany. Scientists place the item into a liquid that "washes" out the DNA. They can then look at the liquid and find out about the people who once held the item.

In this case, they say the pendant belonged to a woman who lived between 19,000 and 25,000 years ago. They could not say if the woman made it or only wore it.

Essel said the new DNA science permits her to "travel back and have a glance into these people's lives."

Essel said holding the item in her hand transported her back in time and she could imagine the person who made it.

She thought of a lot of questions, such as: "Who was the person who made it? Was this tool passed down from one generation to the next, from a mother to a daughter or from a father to a son?"

Essel added, "That we can start addressing these questions using genetic⁷ tools is still absolutely incredible to me."

Words in This Story

journal –n. a magazine that reports items of special interest to small group of people

jewelry –n. decorative⁸ objects people wear on their body

fascinating –adj. very interesting

pendant –n. a piece of jewelry worn around the neck

glance –v. to look quickly at something

incredible –adj. hard to believe

1 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

2 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

3 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

4 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

5 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

6 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

7 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

8 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。