Abstract
Recent studies demonstrated the potential recovery of ancient mitochondrial- and nuclear DNA from cave sediments. However, it is yet-to-be clear the origin of such sedimentary DNA. Here we report a case of Bronze Age, human skeletal remains, found in a limestone cave, which were found covered with layers of calcite deposits. By analyzing samples representing bones and calcite deposits of from this cave, we were able to: i) reconstruct the full mitochondrial genomes from the bone and the stone (same haplotype); ii) determine the sex of the individual; iii) reconstruct 6 ancient bacterial and archaeal genomes; and iv) demonstrate better ancient DNA preservation in the stone that the bone. Thereby we demonstrate, for the first time, the direct diffusion of human DNA from bones into the surrounding environment, and show the potential of reconstructing ancient microbial genomes from such cave deposits, which represent an additional paleoarcheological archive resource.