Preliminary ancient DNA screening results from first to eighth century AD sites in Samtavro and Tchkantiskedi, Georgia

Ancient DNA allows the analysis of the genetic makeup of past populations. However, due to the highly variable nature of DNA preservation it is often useful to screen samples in order to assess the quality of DNA preservation before deciding how to invest resources into further sequencing efforts. Here we present screening results of 34 human bone and teeth samples showing a high variation in DNA preservation not only across the whole cemetery but also within tombs of the same cemetery. Preliminary analyses show that preservation levels are satisfactory for genetic characterisation of this ancient population.Luka Papac, Bastien Llamas, Alan Cooper, Varsha Pilbrow and Wolfgang Haa