Scientists Have Been Able To Fully Sequence The DNA Of A Man Who Died In Pompeii

Now that the scientists have successfully sequenced the man’s DNA, they hope to employ the technique on other remains.

“In the future, many more genomes from Pompeii can be studied,” Serena Viva, a co-author of the study and an anthropologist at the University of Salento, said.

“The victims of Pompeii experienced a natural catastrophe, a thermal shock, and it was not known that you could preserve their genetic material.”

According to Viva, the latest study has confirmed that new analytical technology for genetics can sequence genomes on damaged matter. Additionally, the way that the residents of Pompeii died helped preserve more of their DNA.

The chemical substances that were produced during the volcanic eruption may have protected their bodies from succumbing to decay.

Oxygen and water are some of the environmental factors that cause DNA degradation. There were low amounts of both at Pompeii, limiting the degradation of DNA.

The Pompeiian man’s genetic profile matched the central Italian population that lived during the Roman Imperial Age. His ancestors likely traveled from Anatolia to Italy sometime during the Neolithic period.