Biological kinship in 750 year old human remains from Central Argentina with signs of interpersonal violence

VIVIANA RENA; NIDIA MODESTI; SOFÍA C. ANGELETTI; MARIANA FABRA; RODRIGO NORES; DARÍO A. DEMARCHI

FORENSIC SCIENCE MEDICINE AND PATHOLOGY

HUMANA PRESS INC

Lugar: Oregon; Año: 2020 vol. 16 p. 649 - 658

1547-769X

Human skeletal remains of an adult male (20?24 years old) and a juvenile (4?8 years old), dated to 750 ± 85 14C years BP, werefound on the southern margin of Mar Chiquita Lagoon (Córdoba, Argentina). Both individuals show signs of being victims of interpersonal violence, with arrowheads associated with the remains and perimortemlesions on the juvenile, as well as an unusual form of burial, with the juvenile partially overlapped with the adult. The aim of this work is to study a ossible kin relationship between these two individuals through ancient DNA analysis. Biological kinship was evaluated by autosomal and Ychromosome STR (short tandem repeat) typing, PCR-APLP for SNP determination and hypervariable region I sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA. Genetic analyses indicated that these individuals shared the same Y-chromosomal haplotype but different mitochondrial lineages. The likelihood ratio based on autosomal loci indicates that the genetic profiles of the human remains would be more likely to be that indicating a father-son bond. The paleogenetic approach combined with forensic genetic methods applied to this study allowed us to confirm a hypothesis that originated in bioarchaeological evidence. This study constitutes a unique case in Argentina of kinship determination based on DNA profiles of human remains in an archaeological context of interpersonal violence. It is important to highlight the contribution made by these studies to address topics usually hidden in bioarchaeological studies, such as community organization, cultural customs and mortuary practices.