mtDNA analysis of human remains from an early Danish Christian cemetery

Rudbeck, Lars; Gilbert, M. Thomas P.; Willerslev, Eske; Hansen, Anders J.; Lynnerup, Niels; Christensen, Tom; Dissing, J.

doi:10.1002/ajpa.20294

Cited by 33 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In our Iron Age Norwegians, this haplogroup has a frequency of almost 5%, lower than that observed in ancient Denmark (13%) [55], but higher than the frequency of less than 2% for Hg I* in people today. The change in frequency of Hg K* was even more marked in our dataset: we saw a reduction from 9.3% in ancient to 5.5% in modern Norwegians, compared with 4.7% in ancient Denmark [55][56][57][58]. Hg K* may be an ancient Scandinavian signature because its frequency in ancient Icelanders was 13%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Mitochondrial DNA variation in the Viking age population of Norway

Krzewińska

Bjørnstad

Skoglund

et al. 2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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The medieval Norsemen or Vikings had an important biological and cultural impact on many parts of Europe through raids, colonization and trade, from about AD 793 to 1066. To help understand the genetic affinities of the ancient Norsemen, and their genetic contribution to the gene pool of other Europeans, we analysed DNA markers in Late Iron Age skeletal remains from Norway. DNA was extracted from 80 individuals, and mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms were detected by next-generation sequencing. The sequences of 45 ancient Norwegians were verified as genuine through the identification of damage patterns characteristic of ancient DNA. The ancient Norwegians were genetically similar to previously analysed ancient Icelanders, and to present-day Shetland and Orkney Islanders, Norwegians, Swedes, Scots, English, German and French. The Viking Age population had higher frequencies of K*, U*, V* and I* haplogroups than their modern counterparts, but a lower proportion of T* and H* haplogroups. Three individuals carried haplotypes that are rare in Norway today (U5b1b1, Hg A* and an uncommon variant of H*). Our combined analyses indicate that Norse women were important agents in the overseas expansion and settlement of the Vikings, and that women from the Orkneys and Western Isles contributed to the colonization of Iceland.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Mitochondrial DNA variation in the Viking age population of Norway

Krzewińska

Bjørnstad

Skoglund

et al. 2015

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…There is a need, for example, to develop and evaluate alternative interpretive models when individuals buried in close spatial proximity within a cemetery are not close genetic relatives (Deguilloux et al 2011;Rudbeck et al 2005). Additionally, the absence of evidence of genetic relatedness in cases where other types of data (e.g., mortuary, isotopic, etc.)…”

Section: Alternative Models Of Families and Conceptions Of Relatednessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioarchaeology and Kinship: Integrating Theory, Social Relatedness, and Biology in Ancient Family Research

Johnson

Paul

2015

J Archaeol Res

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Theoretical developments in sociocultural anthropology have transformed the study of kinship. Here, we review these theoretical developments, consider their influence on bioarchaeological kinship research, and propose an alternative framework for studying relatedness in antiquity. We find that broader, more flexible conceptions of relatedness have grown increasingly prevalent in 21st-century bioarchaeology, but kinship research largely continues to emphasize methodological improvement and identification of biological kin in archaeological contexts. By approaching kinship as a multiscalar dimension of social identity, bioarchaeologists can leverage complex conceptions of relatedness with diverse types of data to gain nuanced perspectives on family-based social organization in the past.

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“…Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis, which involves the analysis of DNA from specimens hundreds to thousands years of age, has been widely used on archaeological and museum specimens to assess familial relationships and for sex estimation (Palmirotta et al 1997;Meyer et al 2000;Rudbeck et al 2005;Ricaut et al 2006). The combination of archaeological data with molecular evidence, however, affords new opportunities to study the life history of the Batavia mutiny victims thus far recovered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DNA analysis of human skeletal remains associated with the Batavia mutiny of 1629

Yahya¹,

Gaudieri²,

Franklin³

2010

Rec West Aust Mus

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-The wrecking of the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie retourschip Batavia, and the subsequent massacre that ensued, is one of the most macabre events in the history of pre-colonial European activity in Australia. Human skeletal remains have been recovered during the excavation of sites on Beacon Island in the Houtman Abrolhos that are associated with the Batavia mutiny. Four individual burials were discovered between 1960 and 1964 and a further six individuals (including children) were recovered from a multiple burial excavated between 1994 and 2001.The physical remains of those victims of the Batavia mutiny were previously analysed in order to estimate age, sex, stature and to describe their general state of health and any evidence of perimortem trauma that may have contributed to death. These data were interpreted in relation to historical and archaeological evidence to postulate who the individuals may have been, and to rule out other potential burials that occurred during the mutiny. There are, however, some inherent limitations with the anthropological analyses: fi rst, familial relationships cannot be ascertained from the physical remains; second, it is not possible to reliably estimate sex in the immature skeleton. To that end, the aim of the present project is to study the familial relationships of the almost 400-year-old remains and to determine their sex based on molecular genetic analysis.Teeth from nine of the victims were available for DNA analysis. Following extraction and decontamination, the pulp chamber of the tooth was drilled and powdered sample collected. With regard to sex estimation, attempts to type the amelogenin gene on chromosomes X and Y were ultimately unsuccessful, most likely due to the overall poor preservation of the remains. DNA analyses of the hypervariable regions within the maternally inherited mitochondrial genome, however, suggest that there is no maternal relationship between two of the children in the multiple burial, which has important ramifi cations for establishing potential identifi cations of the victims.

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mtDNA analysis of human remains from an early Danish Christian cemetery

Cited by 33 publications

References 22 publications

Mitochondrial DNA variation in the Viking age population of Norway

Mitochondrial DNA variation in the Viking age population of Norway

Bioarchaeology and Kinship: Integrating Theory, Social Relatedness, and Biology in Ancient Family Research

DNA analysis of human skeletal remains associated with the Batavia mutiny of 1629

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