Comparison between silica-based methods for the extraction of DNA from human bones from 18th–mid-19th century London

We compared five silica-based methods for their efficiency at extracting DNA from human bones from 18th to mid-19th century London. Polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) were directed at two mitochondrial and one nuclear loci. Methods that used commercially available silica columns were more efficient than methods that used a silica slurry. Extraction with Qiagen QIAquick columns and the Qiagen QIAamp DNA Mini Kit were equally efficient, though we recommend the former as this method involves fewer steps.