The power of a new subfield of ancient DNA (aDNA), known as environmental DNA (eDNA), is growing. In this episode I explore a study released in 2021 that reconstructs an ancient Siberian ecosystem from 50,000 years ago to the present. The ability to answer long held questions from a handful of dirt is quite the feat.

Studies mentioned in the episode:

* Late Quaternary dynamics of Arctic biota from ancient environmental genomics by Yucheng Wang et al., 2021. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04016-x

* DNA pulled from thin air identifies nearby animals by Erik Stokstad, 2021. DOI: 10.1126/science.abl5425

* When did mammoths go extinct? by Joshua Miller & Carl Simpson, 2022. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05416-3

* Reply to: When did mammoths go extinct? By Yucheng Wang et al., 2022. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05417-2

* A 2-million-year-old ecosystem in Greenland uncovered by environmental DNA by Kurt H. Kjær et al., 2022. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05453-y

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dawnofsapiens.substack.com