Emily Chan
In the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii, houses, frescos, and artifacts have been preserved for visitors to observe.
They can also see some of Pompeii’s victims, who were immortalized by 19th-century archaeologists who used plaster to fill the voids left by their burned bodies.
These casts have become symbols of human tragedy and loss. In one dwelling, four figures huddled beneath a staircase have long been assumed to be a family. Part of the family was thought to consist of a mother holding a child.
But now, a new DNA analysis of skeletal remains in the Roman town has revealed that some of the victims have been misidentified.
The family in the House of the Golden Bracelet, named after the mother’s jewelry, are not related, and they are likely all male.
“This research shows how genetic analysis can significantly add to the stories constructed from archaeological data,” said David Caramelli, a co-author of the study and an anthropologist at the University of Florence.
“The findings challenge enduring notions, such as the association of jewelry with femininity or the interpretation of physical proximity as evidence of familial relationships.”
The researchers determined that the man wearing the bracelet had black hair and dark skin. Three of the four individuals under the staircase had genetic ties to regions like North Africa or the Eastern Mediterranean.
The genetic analysis also reframed the narrative surrounding two individuals in the House of the Cryptoporticus, locked in an embrace as they died.
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