Ancient epigenomics is a growing area of study within the field of paleogenomics. By leveraging the differential in post-mortem cytosine deamination between methylated and unmethylated CpG sites, the methylation patterns of ancient domesticates can be reconstructed. Through this approach, I am interested in determining key characteristics such as the sex ratios, castration status, and age-at-death of cattle and sheep. This will reveal key information about the farming practices and subsistence strategies of ancient human populations. Furthermore, I wish to compare the methylation profiles of domesticates to their wild predecessors in order to identify the changes in gene expression that are involved in developing desirable, agricultural traits.
