Year of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Name

Anthropology (Forensic and Biological Anthropology)

Department or School/College

Anthropology

Committee Chair

Meradeth Snow

Commitee Members

Randall Skelton, David Xing

Keywords

Bog bodies, Prservation of remains

Subject Categories

Biological and Physical Anthropology

Abstract

Bog bodies have been a consistent area of interest in both archaeology and biological anthropology, due to their high rates of physical preservation. While there are many physical analyses that have been done on these remains, DNA analysis is lacking. Most studies focus on changes to the remains themselves or attempt to determine why they were placed in a bog. This study aims to examine the effects of pH level on the breakdown of DNA on remains placed inside a bog along with any larger differences in the preservation of the remains. The results of this study seem to point to a pH of four or five being ideal for DNA preservation, while a pH of six provides the best physical preservation. This provides a good starting point for future research to truly look at the variability that occurs. Out of all samples taken, the teeth were shown to be the best area to sample, when available. If they are not available, a skeletal sample should be used in its place. This is a preliminary research study, so while the data is a useful starting point, this study needs to be redone with more samples and different proxies to draw a more accurate conclusion about how pH affects DNA breakdown in bog bodies. This should be paired with a stronger focus on testing bogs where actual sets of remains were found to pair with any data found in future studies.

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© Copyright 2025 Gabrielle B. Giangreco