Sex determination of skeletal remains of 4000 year old children and juveniles from Hoštice 1 za Hanou (Czech Republic) by ancient DNA analysis

Michaela Vaňharová; Eva Drozdová

doi:10.2478/v10044-008-0011-7

Authors

Michaela Vaňharová Department of Medical Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Komenského nám. 2, Brno, Czech Republic
Eva Drozdová Laboratory of Biological and Molecular Anthropology, Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, Brno, Czech Republic

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/v10044-008-0011-7

Keywords:

amelogenin, SRY, aDNA, Bell-Beaker-culture, Hoštice-1-za-Hanou

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the sex by means of modern molecular genetic methods of children and immature individuals from the 4000 years old Eneolithic burial site "Hoštice 1 za Hanou" of the Bell-Beaker people, in central Moravia (Czech Republic). While the anthropological approach was in this case limited either by the state of preservation of the skeletal remains or simply by absence of definite morphological traits in the children, analysis of aDNA (SRY, amelogenin) yielded results consistent with archeological grave findings and body imposition. The burial rites of the investigated culture facilitated the analysis because the gender specific imposition of adults has previously been described (man left-side, head northwards, woman right-side, head southwards) However, this approach is often limited in case of children burials. This study showed high concordance between archeological sex-determination and genetic sex, but also revealed several exceptions in children burial rite of Bell Beaker culture.

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