Ancient DNA and Family Relationships in a Pompeian House

2009/05/28 by Giovanni Di Bernardo, Stefania Del Gaudio, Umberto Galderisi +2 · 2 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Arts and Humanities · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Forensic and Genetic Research #Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1469-1809.2009.00520.x

Abstract

Archaeological, anthropological and pathological data suggest that thirteen skeletons found in a house at the Pompeii archaeological site, dated to 79 A.D., belong to one family. To verify this and to identify the relationships between these individuals, we analyzed DNA extracted from bone specimens. Specifically, hypervariable segment 1 (HVS1) of the human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region was amplified in two overlapping polymerase chain reactions and the sequences were compared to the revised Cambridge Reference Sequence. As independent controls, other polymorphic sites in HVS1, HVS2 and in the coding region were analyzed. We also amplified some short tandem repeats of the thirteen specimens. This study revealed that six of the thirteen individuals are indeed closely related.

Cited by

• Bioarchaeological and palaeogenomic portrait of two Pompeians that died during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. [europepmc]
• Ancient DNA challenges prevailing interpretations of the Pompeii plaster casts. [europepmc]

Related

• Ancient genomes reveal cosmopolitan ancestry and maternal kinship patterns at post-Roman Worth Matravers, Dorset
• Ancient DNA from a pre‐Columbian Amerindian population
• A study of 8,300-year-old Jomon human remains in Japan using complete mitogenome sequences obtained by next-generation sequencing
• The Tie That Binds Us? Challenging the Primacy of DNA in Kinship Studies and Re-Centring Community in Defining Human Connections across Time
• Reconstructing their genomes confirms the historically attested genealogy of the two medieval emperors Otto I (“the Great”) and Heinrich II (“Saint Henry”)