\u201cThe Viking period represents one of the most dramatic territorial expansions in human history,\u201d says Professor Morten Allentoft, an evolutionary biologist who had a supervisory role in the research and who is the new Head of Curtin\u2019s Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) laboratory<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cOur genetic analysis could confirm the archaeological interpretations of what actually happened back then. Vikings of Danish ancestry travelled into England; the Swedish into the Baltic and the Norwegians into Ireland, Iceland and Greenland,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
The research also determined that some individuals who were buried Viking-style in what is now the UK had no Scandinavian DNA, whereas other individuals buried in Norway had genetic similarities to East Asians and Siberians. These findings suggest that people not of Scandinavian origin took up the Viking way of life, making \u2018Viking\u2019 more an occupation rather than distinct ethnic group.<\/p>\n
Allentoft prepares to sample a Viking skeleton at a museum on Faroe Islands.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cBefore being able to extract and analyse the ancient DNA from these skeletons, our understanding of this period relied heavily on the archaeological record and a few written sources, so it\u2019s been great to be able to validate these with genetics,\u201d Allentoft says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe archaeologists will often have a detailed understanding of when and where new cultures arose or diminished, but a more limited understanding of who these people actually were. This is where ancient DNA analyses come in, and our results show the true value of interdisciplinary research.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project is the one of the largest ancient DNA projects to date, taking more than five years to complete and involving more than 50 researchers from different nations and academic fields. Allentoft, who was a researcher with the University of Copenhagen during the project, was primarily involved with the research design and supervision, while other people in the team did \u201cmost of the hard work in the lab\u201d, as he puts it.<\/p>\n
Allentoft has ample experience in leading such large projects, and says it was extremely rewarding to be able to contribute to our knowledge of Vikings who, despite living around 1,000 years ago, continue to hold such fascination in the public\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstanding what happened in these ancient times is really about understanding ourselves; who we are and where we come from,\u201d he says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cWe can call them Vikings but it\u2019s essentially just a matter of understanding the detailed evolutionary history within this one species we call Homo sapiens.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n
Allentoft (left) in a Nullarbor cave, looking for extinct megafauna.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n From Scandinavia to Australia<\/h2>\n
Allentoft has forged a successful career in using ancient DNA to peer back through time and piece together human evolution and influence on the natural world. In addition to the Viking research, he has helped to determine massive human migrations in the Bronze Age<\/a> and the demise of New Zealand\u2019s mega moas<\/a>.<\/p>\n
As soon as borders reopen, the young genetic sleuth will travel from Copenhagen to Perth, where he will turn his attention from fierce Norse raiders to cold-blooded reptiles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a personal passion for reptiles \u2013 ever since I was a kid I\u2019ve been catching snakes and lizards \u2013 and there\u2019s something about Australia\u2019s environment that has fostered an extreme diversity in this group of animals.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cMost of my current research revolves around these magnificent scaly creatures and how they can be used as model organisms to understand evolution and changes in the environment through time.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, we are just about to start up a really cool genomics project on the endangered olive python, found in the Pilbara.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery species has \u2018signatures\u2019 of selection \u2013 mutations in the genome that have proven beneficial sometime in the evolutionary past \u2013 so we can look at when those occurred in the python genes to determine how it adapted to the environment, and how it might be impacted by habitat change and ongoing climate changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allentoft gets up close and personal with an olive python in Kakadu National Park.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n But in a country like Australia, with its vast stretches of unexplored landscapes, the challenge is often trying to locate a particular species. This is where environmental DNA (eDNA) comes in.<\/p>\n
\u201cOrganisms leave traces of DNA wherever they are, so by taking samples of soil or water, researchers can extract any DNA that might be there and then compare the DNA sequences to large genetic databases to identify which species are present,\u201d Allentoft explains.<\/p>\n
eDNA not only gives biologists a nuanced understanding of species distributions through space and time, but can also inform better conservation and management efforts of certain flora and fauna, ensuring the biodiversity we have exists for years to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to be able to understand the past, but we need to use that knowledge to try and positively change the future,\u201d Allentoft says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Massive moas: Allentoft examines a moa tibiotarsus in Canterbury Museum, New Zealand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n When he\u2019s not studying bits of old bones or catching snakes, Allentoft will be progressing the work of the TrEnD lab; he is set to take over from Professor Mike Bunce, whom Allentoft has previously worked with as PhD student.<\/p>\n
\u201ceDNA is a fantastic biomonitoring tool that has been developed and optimised in the TrEnD lab by Professor Bunce and his team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lab is well-equipped with cutting edge technology to conduct high quality DNA research. Especially if you\u2019re working with small amounts of eDNA, or ancient DNA that may be damaged or degraded due to its age, you need a very clean and sterile environment, and the TrEnD lab is especially suited to this type of work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait to merge the lab\u2019s expertise with my own ancient DNA and genomics background to study Australian biodiversity.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When asked what type of person makes a successful geneticist, Allentoft says it helps to have an understanding of bioinformatics and some knowledge of computer programming, because there is a lot<\/em> of data to catalogue and interpret, and demand in the field is growing. However, the most important quality of all he says is not a skill, but a state of mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to have basic curiosity, because that\u2019s where you get ideas. Every time you look under a rock or turn over a leaf, there are ideas to be found. DNA is a wonderful tool to satisfy this curiosity and understand the natural world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Professor Morten Allentoft analyses ancient DNA to piece together human evolution and influence on the natural world. The genetic sleuth is set to be the new Head of Curtin’s TrEnD lab.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4182,"featured_media":8304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,40],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-8303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-and-global-community","category-technology"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"Shotgun sequencing","content":"
To explore the genomic history of Vikings, the researchers used a number of DNA sequencing techniques, one of which was \u2018shotgun-sequencing\u2019. With this method, a large DNA molecule is broken up into smaller fragments and ordered individually. A computer program then reassembles those fragments by looking for areas of overlap. Through this method, scientists can determine the exact information carried in a gene.<\/p>\n","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"Genetics, Environmental Science","qualification":"Bachelor of Science (Environmental Science)","link":"https:\/\/study.curtin.edu.au\/offering\/course-ug-environmental-science-major-bsc-science--mjru-ensci\/","description":"","faculty":"Science and Engineering"},{"title":"Science","qualification":"Bachelor of Science","link":"https:\/\/study.curtin.edu.au\/offering\/course-ug-bachelor-of-science-science--b-scnce\/?gclid=CjwKCAjwz6_8BRBkEiwA3p02VWy3vB5oIt0abNeeP3ZhNForsL45qWhHwj4upZqSyYawKfzrvR0VzxoCRv4QAvD_BwE","description":"","faculty":"Science and Engineering"},{"title":"Molecular Genetics (Advanced)","qualification":"Bachelor of Advanced Science (Molecular Genetics)","link":"https:\/\/study.curtin.edu.au\/offering\/course-ug-molecular-genetics-major-badvscihonours--mjrh-adgen\/","description":"","faculty":"Health Sciences"}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Vikings-1000x500.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Zoe","last_name":"Taylor","display_name":"Zoe Taylor"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-22 07:55:24","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8303"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=8303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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![\"Allentoft](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Nullarbor-cave-looking-for-extinct-megafauna-792x420.jpg\")
![\"Allentoft](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Olive-python-in-Kakadu-NP-792x420.jpg\")
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