Papers on the microbiology of ancient human remains and old artefacts. Also see Forensic Microbiology and The Microbiome Of Death. Updated July 2016.
Research papers: Human remains
Restricted diversity of dental calculus methanogens over five centuries, France – Hong T. T. Huynh – Scientific Reports – May 2016
List of links to papers and pages on this topic, most of which are also listed here. Web Alert: Microbiology in archaeology. An annotated selection of World Wide Web sites relevant to the topics in environmental microbiology – Lawrence P. Wackett – Environmental Microbiology – April 2016
Complications in the study of ancient tuberculosis: Presence of environmental bacteria in human archaeological remains – Romy Müller – Journal of Archaeological Science – March 2016
The 5300-year-old Helicobacter pylori genome of the Iceman – Frank Maixner – Science – January 2016
Microbiological Analysis of Necrosols Collected from Urban Cemeteries in Poland – Ireneusz Całkosiński – BioMed Research International – July 2015
Historical microbiology, is it relevant in the 21st century? – FEMS Microbiology Letters
Lesley A. Robertson – April 2015
A new era in palaeomicrobiology: prospects for ancient dental calculus as a long-term record of the human oral microbiome – Christina Warinner – Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B – December 2014
Paleomicrobiology: Revealing Fecal Microbiomes of Ancient Indigenous Cultures – Raul J. Cano – PLOS ONE – September 2014
Metagenomic Analysis Reveals Presence of Treponema denticola in a Tissue Biopsy of the Iceman – Frank Maixner – PLOS ONE – Juny 2014
Pathogens and host immunity in the ancient human oral cavity – Christina Warinner – Nature Genetics – February 2014
Book chapter: Archaeology vis-à-vis Microbiology: Discovering the Vistas of Interdisciplinary Research – Pranjal Garg – Frontier Discoveries and Innovations in Interdisciplinary Microbiology
Archeology Meets Clinical Microbiology: Analysis of the Microbial Content of Soil From Archeological Sites in Italy and Belize – Paul M. Southern Jr – Laboratory Medicine – October 2008
Research papers: Non-human remains
Video protocol for ancient ice cores: Removal of Exogenous Materials from the Outer Portion of Frozen Cores to Investigate the Ancient Biological Communities Harbored Inside – Robyn A. Barbato – JOVE
Microbial communities affecting albumen photography heritage: a methodological survey – Puškárová – Scientific Reports – February 2016
Biodeterioration Risk Threatens the 3100 Year Old Staircase of Hallstatt (Austria): Possible Involvement of Halophilic Microorganisms – Guadalupe Piñar – PLOS ONE (OA) – February 2016
Auschwitz: Metabolomic and high-throughput sequencing analysis—modern approach for the assessment of biodeterioration of materials from historic buildings – Beata Gutarowska – Frontiers in Microbiology – September 2015
Amid the possible causes of a very famous foxing: molecular and microscopic insight into Leonardo da Vinci’s self-portrait – Guadalupe Piñar – Environmental Microbiology Reports – August 2015
Microbiology of Healing Mud (Fango) from Roman Thermae Aquae Iasae Archaeological Site (Varaždinske Toplice, Croatia) – Janez Mulec – Microbial Ecology September 2014
Viable paleosol microorganisms, paleoclimatic reconstruction, and relative dating in archaeology: a test case from Hell Gap, Wyoming, USA – Brigid S. Grund – Journal of Archaeological Science – June 2014
Chapter 13: Bacterial Degradation of Archaeological Wood in Anoxic Waterlogged Environments – NB Pedersen – From the book: Stability of Complex Carbohydrate Structures : Biofuels, Foods, Vaccines and Shipwrecks – December 2012
Microbiology of Concretions, Sediments and Mechanisms Influencing the Preservation of Submerged Archaeological Artifacts – D. Roy Cullimore – International Journal of Historical Archaeology – March 2008
Review papers
Melding the Old with the New: Trends in Methods Used to Identify, Monitor, and Control Microorganisms on Cultural Heritage Materials – Patricia Sanmartín – Microbial Ecology – April 2016
Bacteria and Archaea Paleomicrobiology of the Dental Calculus: a Review – Hong T.T. Huynh – Molecular Oral Microbiology – July 2015
Popular press articles
Scientists Find Hannibal’s Route through Alps – Enrico de Lazaro – Sci-News – April 2016
Hannibal’s famous Alps crossing revealed by ancient animal poop – Grennan Milliken – PopSci – April 2016
Oil-Eating Microbes Threaten Shipwrecks and Ocean Life – Live Science – April 2016
Bacterial bioerosion of bone may help identify stillborn infants from the past – Childhood Bioarchaeology – March 2016
Stairway to heaven – Elisabeth Bik – MicroBE.net – February 2016
Iceman’s stomach bug gives clues to humans’ spread into Europe – Grennan Milliken – PopSci – January 2016
What have the Romans ever done for us? – Elisabeth Bik – MicroBE.net – January 2016
Microbial communities and biodeterioration of Auschwitz buildings – Elisabeth Bik – MicroBE.net – September 2015
Ancient Skeletons Chronicle the Spread of Leprosy – Maddie Stone – Motherboard – May 2015
Scientists unlock a ‘microbial Pompeii’ – Heritage Daily – February 2014
Molecular Archaeology puts artifacts in perspective – Day of Archaeology – July 2011
Microbiology Provides Clues to Extinct Caribbean Cultures – Popular Archaeology
Ancient teeth bacteria record disease evolution – Phys.org – February 2013
Investigating microbes in Tutankhamun’s tomb – Archaeology News Network – June 2011
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