Living organisms leave traces of their DNA in the environment. Scientists now can recover such preserved DNA, known as ancient DNA, from lake, soil and ice to understand which plants, animals and sometimes insects were present in the past. Some species serve as reliable indicators and provide insights into the stability or changes in environments.

In this lab, we will guide you through the process of DNA recovery from samples dating back to the early Viking Age in Iceland. We will learn how many plant species we can detect from a pinch of soil and how the environment changed before and after the Viking Age in Iceland.