Kinship analysis on skeletal ancient remains: The case of “el cerro de la horra” (Burgos, Spain)

Abstract

The finding of a multiple simultaneous burial often suggests a close biological relationship among the individuals. In this context, this paper focuses on three very closely interred sub-adults in the site of El Cerro (La Horra, Burgos, Spain), a pit site of the Central Iberian Plateau dated to the Middle Bronze Age, ca. 1850-1450 cal BC. In this simultaneous triple burial two of the subadults were inhumed in lateral decubitus position intertwined face to face: a 7–8 years-old infant placed on his right side (HOR 02) and a second infant, perhaps male, about 11 years old, on the left (HOR 03), keeping a purposefully symmetrical disposition. On top of these corpses, and occupying the space between them, was placed a third subadult (HOR 01), a juvenile of 11–15 years, probably female. We have selected different teeth samples from each one of these individuals for genetic analysis, with the aim of enlightening their alleged kinship relationship, which could be key in the interpretation of the site and the overall cultural practices. To perform the kinship analysis, we have extracted and amplified DNA from three dental pieces from individuals HOR01 and HOR02, and two from HOR03. The DNA markers analysed were autosomal short tandem repeats (STRs), autosomal insertion – deletion markers (InDels) and HVI and HVII regions of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Nevertheless, the poor preservation state of the DNA did not allow the obtention of reliable results autosomal markers. However, the mitochondrial DNA analysis provide the same haplotype to the three individuals (16298C 64T 72C, in the range: (16105–16399) (57–128)), belonging to HV0 mitochondrial haplogroup. The results point to a kinship among all the individuals through the maternal lineage.