The eruption of Vesuvius in -79 BC. BC allowed the city of Pompeii to be frozen in stone, as it was at the time of this catastrophe which killed 3,000 people in less than 17 minutes. In the 1870s, casts were made by pouring plaster into the cavities of bodies now reduced to skeletons under ashes and rock. An advanced analysis of 14 of these casts, published recently in the journal Current Biology made it possible to identify certain errors of interpretation which had persisted for decades.
A cosmopolitan society
This analysis was carried out by an international team of researchers composed of scientists from Harvard Medical School (United States), the University of Florence (Italy) and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Germany), noted Futura . “Our goal was to test suggested interpretations in the absence of genetic data about the victims’ identities and their relationships to each other, based on the shape and position of the bodies”they explained.
In total, they were able to extract DNA from five of the casts by heating the mixture composed of plaster and bone, details TF1 Info . These fragments were then subject to sequencing and genetic analysis. The analyzes made it possible to confirm certain hypotheses, such as the origin of the inhabitants of Pompeii who would mainly come from the eastern Mediterranean, in particular from Greece.
Preconceived ideas to eliminate
On the other hand, these genetic analyzes gave rise to surprising revelations. For example, a cast showing an adult wearing a gold bracelet and a child on their lap was usually interpreted as a mother and child. However, it appears that this is a man with a child who is not biologically related to him. Likewise, the cast of two people hugging had long been considered that of two sisters, or of a mother and her daughter. However, the analysis showed that there was at least one man in this duo.
“We show that individuals’ genders and family relationships do not correspond to traditional interpretations”highlighted the scientists. David Reich, co-lead author of the study, also warned about “the dangers of inventing stories about gender and family relationships in past societies based on current expectations”. Alissa Mittnik, another co-author, finally insisted on “the importance of integrating genetic analysis with archaeological and historical information”.
