The morphological identification of raw biological material used to produce archeological artifacts is sometimes difficult or even impossible. In recent years, newly developed biochemical techniques have allowed more reliable identification of exploited animal species, even for otherwise taxonomically undiagnostic fragments, and thus can help pinpoint the geographical origin of the raw material. However, in addition to being costly, these techniques involve destructive sampling. This explains why they are rarely applied to archeological artifacts, especially those made of precious, imported raw material or those representing intact works of art. Here, we analyzed the ancient DNA (aDNA) of a medieval chess piece made of ivory of unknown origin, recovered from a medieval settlement in Jambes (Namur), Belgium. This chess piece was broken during excavation. We took this unfortunate event as an opportunity to perform aDNA extraction, to try to answer three questions: (1) What Proboscidean species does the ivory come from?; (2) Can we establish the geographic origin of the ivory more precisely?; and (3) Does doing so help our understanding of (part of) the trade route followed by the ivory? We sequenced two short fragments of the mitochondrial genome and compared them with publicly available DNA data. This enabled the identification of the raw material as an African elephant (genus Loxodonta). Although the results cannot exclude that the ivory comes from a forest elephant, the recovered DNA sequence is currently found only among savanna elephant DNA records. The ivory likely originates from an eastern or southern African country and was therefore probably transported along the African trade route passing through the Swahili Corridor. However, the precise itinerary followed by this ivory from the African shore of the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, and then to the archeological site from which it was recovered, remains unknown. Such identification contributes to documenting past trade networks and long-distance exchange.

中文翻译：

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通过分析古代 DNA 追踪比利时中世纪棋子加工象牙的来源

用于生产考古文物的原始生物材料的形态鉴定有时是困难的，甚至是不可能的。近年来，新开发的生化技术可以更可靠地识别已开发的动物物种，即使是在分类学上无法诊断的片段，因此可以帮助查明原材料的地理来源。然而，除了成本高昂之外，这些技术还涉及破坏性采样。这就解释了为什么它们很少用于考古文物，尤其是那些由珍贵的进口原材料制成或代表完整艺术品的文物。在这里，我们分析了一个由来历不明的象牙制成的中世纪棋子的古代 DNA (aDNA)，该棋子是从比利时 Jambes (Namur) 的一个中世纪定居点回收的。这颗棋子在挖掘过程中被打破。我们以这次不幸的事件为契机进行了 DNA 提取，试图回答三个问题：（1）象牙来自什么长鼻科物种？(2) 我们能否更准确地确定象牙的地理来源？(3) 这样做是否有助于我们理解（部分）象牙所遵循的贸易路线？我们对线粒体基因组的两个短片段进行了测序，并将它们与公开的 DNA 数据进行了比较。这使得能够将原材料识别为非洲象（属 (3) 这样做是否有助于我们理解（部分）象牙所遵循的贸易路线？我们对线粒体基因组的两个短片段进行了测序，并将它们与公开的 DNA 数据进行了比较。这使得能够将原材料识别为非洲象（属 (3) 这样做是否有助于我们理解（部分）象牙所遵循的贸易路线？我们对线粒体基因组的两个短片段进行了测序，并将它们与公开的 DNA 数据进行了比较。这使得能够将原材料识别为非洲象（属象形目）。虽然结果不能排除象牙来自森林大象，但目前仅在稀树草原大象的 DNA 记录中发现了恢复的 DNA 序列。象牙可能来自东部或南部非洲国家，因此很可能是沿着通过斯瓦希里走廊的非洲贸易路线运输的。然而，这颗象牙从地中海的非洲海岸到欧洲，再到发现它的考古遗址的确切路线仍然未知。这种识别有助于记录过去的贸易网络​​和长途交流。