(1) laboratory of Genetic Diversity,
center for advanced Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810
(2) The Hokkaido University Museum, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
Abstract
Ancient DNA was analyzed from skull remains of 12 brown bears (Ursus arctos) excavated
from the archeological site of the Okhotsk Culture on Rebun Island of Hokkaido, where no
natural populations of brown bears currently occur, in order to trace their orginal habitats.
The Okhotsk Culture developed around southern coastal regions of the Okhotsk sea
(southern Sakhalin, Rebun and Rishiri Islands, northern and eastern Hokkaido, and
southern Kuril Islands) during 6-11 centuries, A.D. The ancient people of those days
are considered to have involved brown bears for traditional ceremonies and rituals.
From the skull remains, partial fragments (approximately 250-360 base pairs) of the
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region were successfully sequenced. Compared
with sequence data of modern brown bears of the Hokkaido main land, ancient mtDNAs
of Rebun Island were phylogenetically classified into either of two lineages of modern
mtDNA: the north-central Hokkaido lineage and southern Hokkaido llineage. The
southern Hokkaido lineage was identified from three juvenile (less than one year old)
ancient bears, while the north-cebtral Hokkaido lineage was mainly from adults(more
than three years old). Our findings demonstrated that juvenile ancient bears of Rebun
Island were originated from southen Hokkaido, which was an outside area of the
Okhotsk Culture and belonged to the Epi-Jomon Culture with a close relation to a
northern part of the Tohoku district. The molecular phylogeographic study on ancient
and modern brown bears provides an insight to further understanding zooarcheology
and ancient peopleé¹s cultures around Hokkaido
DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank Accession Numbers:
AB055135-055141
age=1000-1400BP
species=Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)
location = Rebun Island, Hokkaido, JAPAN