DNA found in 1,600-year-old naturally mummified sheep leg

[FfFfFfFF 58,120]

In the fifth century A.D., hungry workers in Iran probably gnawed on a sheep leg, then chucked their leftovers into the salt mine where they were working. 1,600 years later, researchers performed a DNA analysis of the limb, peeking into the past and shedding light on an ancient civilization’s sheep husbandry practices. The findings were published last week in the journal Biology Letters.

For the study, the team extracted DNA from a skin sample cut from the sheep’s leg. Thanks to the salt, the sheep’s DNA molecules were “so well preserved and not fragmented, despite their age,” says senior author Kevin Daly.

The sheep’s DNA profile revealed that it was genetically similar to the breeds that populate Southwest Asia today. According to a statement, the result implies that modern sheep may be directly descended from this ancient cattle variety.

As Tom Yun reports for CTV News, the earlier animal probably looked quite different from the contemporary sheep now living in North America. It lacked the gene for a woolly coat, instead bearing the gene variant for a hairy one. Nanoscale imaging of the sheepskin’s hair fiber confirmed that its coat was the shorter kind that didn’t require shearing.

Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-recover-dna-1600-year-old-naturally-mummified-sheep-leg-180978230/