In the case of the recent identification of the remains of King Richard III, it
has been possible to compare DNA extracted from the bones with that of a
living descendant of the king’s sister, Anne of York, which seems to confirm
that it is the body of the king that has been discovered. Further studies are
continuing to see if it possible to check the Ychromosome DNA from the
body with those of modern descendants of John of Gaunt, son of Edward III,
who was also an ancestor of Richard III.^8
This is a developing area of science, and new exciting steps are being made
all the time. It was recently reported that a skeleton found in northern Spain,
some 7,000 years old, had surviving DNA which showed that this man had
dark skin and hair, and blue eyes; he was also lactose intolerant and ate little
starch in his diet. Surprisingly, his closest modern genetic matches were found
in Sweden and Finland..9
Research into individual genomes may add much more detail to our study
of both ancient and modern skeletal remains. It may eventually be possible not
only to establish the gender and ethnicity of a subject and to identify their
familial relationships, skin, eye and hair colour, but also to identify other
mental and physical characteristics – a tendency to put on weight, for
example, or whether they were extravert or neurotic personalities.^10
DNA is also present in other organisms and material–animals, plants, and
diseases have their own DNA fingerprints, and DNA can be found in animal
and human faeces. This can help to identify possible causes of death like
tuberculosis and malaria, even where there are no indications of illness on the
bones. Genetic diseases can also be identified–conditions such as cystic
fibrosis. Identification of the blood group of a body can also help to identify
the relationships of the deceased with other individuals, and also to which
ethnic group he or she may have belonged. Archaeologically, DNA can be
used to identify animal families and movements, in tracing the ancestry of
species such as the domestic dog, or the adoption of animal farming in the
ancient world.
Facial reconstruction is a slightly controversial technique which uses the
bones of the skull as a basis for attempting to recreate the appearance of a
person when they were alive. The skull bones are scanned into a computer,
and copied as a virtual or a physical 3D model. The anatomical structures of
muscles, tendons and blood vessels are then superimposed on the model,
along with the skin, eyes and hair, using average data. This can help to
identify the victims of crime, and to give faces to individuals from the more
ancient past. But there are many problems. The method cannot differentiate
between a fat or a thin face, or recreate superficial marks such as moles,
ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT