Archeology, Forensic Dentistry and Dental Pulp DNA: Some Historical Cases

In Segudet, Andorra, human remains coming from a newly-discovered prehistoric tomb were found in the parish of Ordino, at 1324m of altitude. This body belonged to the ancient Neolithic Age (in the Epicardial period, from 4300 and 4050 BC). These remains were submitted for analysis at the Paleoanthropology Laboratory of the “Unitat d'Antropologia, Dept. Biologia Animal, Vegetal i Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona”. They were identified under the S-2001 acronym. The skeleton was diagnosed as a female of between 30-35 years of age at death. A mitochondrial DNA analysis of the upper right canine (13) was performed and it helped classifying this individual within the European haplogroup K, charactized by an age group from 12,900 to 18,000 years. Therefore, this haplogroup was present in Neolithic populations of the Basque Country and was mainly linked to the indigenous people of Andorra.