DNA-based sex determination in children and undeterminable skeletal remains from the South Outer Precincts (Pohansko near Břeclav)
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2011 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Frühgeschichtliche Zentralorte in Mitteleuropa. Studien zur Archäologie Europas 14 |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Archaeology, anthropology, ethnology |
| Keywords | amelogenin; demography; Great Moravia; PCR; sex determination; SRY |
| Description | The south outer precincts (bailey) constitute the second largest burial site that was discovered at Pohansko. It is dated approximately to 9 and 10th centuries. Bone material was excavated during rescue excavation in the period of 1975 and 1979. The skeletal remains from the south outer precinct are badly preserved: the bones are fragmentary and in most cases unidentifiable. Of the 190 skeletons, only 27 were determined as male, 40 as female and 87 as children. The sex of the remaining 36 skeletons was impossible to discover by standard anthropological methods. The aim of this study was to determine the sex of children’s and unidentified skeletons using methods of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Two common sex markers (the amelogenin gene and the SRY gene) were used. The results give new information about the demography of this burial site. |
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