When one visits the Pompeii archaeological siteone of the most impressive sights is that of the plaster casts of the victims found under the ash of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Over the decades, a story has been crafted about who each of these people whose deaths were frozen in time were and what they were doing. In the Cryptoporticum HouseFor example, there is a couple who appear to be hugging who have been said to be a mother and daughter, or two sisters, and in the House of the Gold Bracelet There are four individuals who are said to be a family, made up of two parents and their children.
A new work on ancient DNA analysis, led by the prestigious geneticist David Reichfrom Harvard University, turns some of these interpretations on their head, after showing genetic data that not only does not fit the traditional story, but also demonstrates that historical interpretations were highly biased. The result will be published this Thursday in the magazine Current Biologyafter examining the skeletal material embedded in the molds that has allowed them to reconstruct the entire genome and characterize the genetic relationships, sex, ancestry and mobility of the individuals.
“A notable example is the discovery of an adult wearing a gold bracelet and holding a child, which was traditionally interpreted as a mother and her child, and that they were an adult male and a child, unrelated.” , explains Reich. “Similarly, a pair of individuals thought to be sisters, or mother and daughter, was found to include at least one genetic male.”
A pair of individuals thought to be sisters, or mother and daughter, was found to include at least one genetic male
David Reich
— Geneticist at Harvard University
The first case that Reich cites is the most striking, that of the supposed “family” of the House of the Gold Bracelet. “The four individuals commonly interpreted as parents and their two children are, in fact, not genetically related,” concludes the study. Regarding the couple hugging, the sex of the two cannot be confirmed. “Nuclear genetic analysis was successful only for individual 22 and revealed that he was a man, excluding the possibility that the pair of victims were sisters or mother and daughter,” the authors write.
A very cosmopolitan Rome
The analyzed genomes also reveal that the 14 individuals had diverse genomic backgrounds. They were mainly descended from recent immigrants from the eastern Mediterranean, as has also been seen in contemporary ancient genomes from the city of Rome, which underlines – in the opinion of the researchers – “the cosmopolitanism of the Roman Empire in this period.”
In this case, the authors highlight the case of individual 25 of the call Villa of Mysterieswho was found alone in a room, lying on a layer of ash, with an iron ring, five bronze coins and a whip. “According to the traces of his clothes and ornaments, he was assumed to belong to a low social status and was interpreted as the custodian of the villa who had faithfully remained in his position,” the authors write. “Our genetic analysis confirms the estimate of male sex and a mixed genetic ancestry that could possibly come from European and eastern Mediterranean sources.”
“Unreliable” narratives
In addition to emphasizing the cosmopolitanism and mobility that shaped urban Roman imperial populations, the authors argue that this study illustrates how unreliable narratives based on limited evidence can be, often reflecting the worldview of researchers in every moment. “Our findings have important implications for the interpretation of archaeological data and the understanding of ancient societies,” he says. Alissa Mittnikresearcher at Harvard University and co-author of the article. “It highlights the importance of integrating genetic data with archaeological and historical information to avoid misinterpretations based on modern assumptions.”
It is important to integrate genetic data with archaeological and historical information to avoid misinterpretations based on modern assumptions.
Alissa Mittnik
— Researcher at Harvard University and co-author of the article
“Analysis carried out in 2015 already showed that, in some cases, the bones were retouched and there was a certain creativity to adapt them to the aesthetics of each era,” he recalls. Gemma Marfanyprofessor of Genetics at the University of Barcelona (UB). “In addition, the interpretations of historians and archaeologists also reflected their beliefs and prejudices, since in many cases the bodies and their disposition were interpreted from the current vision.”
For the specialist, in this work the case of the family of the House of the Golden Bracelet, in which there are two adults and two children. “The analysis shows, curiously, that there is no woman among them, since they are all men, and their chromosomes have been obtained, including those of the two children,” he says. “In addition, there would be no close biological relationship between the children and the adults, which indicates personal relationships different from those that had been proposed.”
“The fact that the most probable origin of the DNA extracted from the five bodies analyzed has a priority component in the Eastern Mediterranean, invites us to reflect on the dimension of the migrations and mixtures that have characterized human populations throughout the story,” he observes. Antonio Salasgeneticist at the University of Santiago (USC). “It is a reminder that movement and interaction between human communities has been a constant and that this genetic and cultural wealth is, in essence, the basis that has allowed us to survive and prosper as a species.”
Refining interpretations
For the archaeologist Alfredo González-Ruibalthe study is interesting because it forces us to be more careful with inferences based exclusively on the visual analysis of bone remains and objects. “But I don’t think it calls into question the ‘construction of gender and family in past societies’, as the authors claim in their conclusions,” he explains.
González-Ruibal believes that, although DNA studies are very useful for changing or refining interpretations of human remains in the past, in this case their scope is rather limited. “I also think that the most interesting case is that of the group mistakenly identified as father, mother and child,” he points out. “However, the new interpretation actually adds little to our understanding of the Roman family or sexual identities: given the exceptional context of catastrophe, the grouping of individuals cannot be understood as representative of anything.”
It is not the first example of genetic sex that does not agree with skeletal or archaeological attributions
Carles Lalueza-Fox
— Specialist in ancient DNA and director of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona
Carles Lalueza-Foxa specialist in ancient DNA and director of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona, considers that the work sheds new light on the most iconic archaeological site in Europe and shows, at the same time, that we have contemplated it by projecting our cultural stereotypes. “It is not the first example of genetic sex that does not agree with skeletal or archaeological attributions,” he recalls. “There are, for example, the Viking warrior of Birka who turned out to be a woman or the lovers of Modena who turned out to be not a man and a woman, but two men.” In any case, he concludes, ancient DNA sheds new light that creates new and perhaps more stimulating stories than those we had previously created without definitive evidence.
Source: www.eldiario.es
