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

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

FORENSIC SCIENCE MEDICINE AND PATHOLOGY

HUMANA PRESS INC

Lugar: Oregon; Año: 2020

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 ofinterpersonal violence, with arrowheads associated with the remains and perimortem lesions on the juvenile, as well as an unusualform of burial, with the juvenile partially overlapped with the adult. The aim of this work is to study a possible kin relationshipbetween these two individuals through ancient DNA analysis. Biological kinship was evaluated by autosomal and Y￾chromosome STR (short tandem repeat) typing, PCR-APLP for SNP determination and hypervariable region I sequencing ofthe mitochondrial DNA. Genetic analyses indicated that these individuals shared the same Y-chromosomal haplotype butdifferent mitochondrial lineages. The likelihood ratio based on autosomal loci indicates that the genetic profiles of the humanremains would be more likely to be that indicating a father-son bond. The paleogenetic approach combined with forensic geneticmethods applied to this study allowed us to confirm a hypothesis that originated in bioarchaeological evidence. This studyconstitutes a unique case in Argentina of kinship determination based on DNA profiles of human remains in an archaeologicalcontext of interpersonal violence. It is important to highlight the contribution made by these studies to address topics usuallyhidden in bioarchaeological studies, such as community organization, cultural customs and mortuary practices.