From the “Washington Post”
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A recent study of fossil DNA, published in “Current Biology”, calls into question certain interpretations of the scenes of life frozen by the catastrophe in 79 AD, shaking up our understanding of Pompeian society.
The Pompeii casts, made from the imprints left in the ashes by decomposed bodies, have long been one of the most tragic natural disasters in ancient history. Among these casts, that of a family of four – a mother holding a child on her hip – and that of two sisters in an eternal embrace inspired deep emotion. However, a scientific study published Thursday November 7 in Current Biology reveals that these widely accepted interpretations are erroneous.
Researchers discovered that the group of four, believed to be a family, was actually made up of four unrelated men. One of the two individuals caught in an embrace, previously identified as a sister, is in reality a man. Scientists analyzed fossil DNA extracted from skeletal remains and pieced together fragments of the identities of five people, rewriting the story of their family ties and their journey.
Analysis of their origin allowed researchers to conclude that these individuals were probably migrants from the eastern Mediterranean or North Africa, shedding new light on the migratory movements of the time. “This shows to what extent these events remain little known,” explains David Reich, a geneticist specializing in fossil DNA at Harvard University and co-leader of the study. “This new scientific tool reveals realities
