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'Fialová D, Brzobohatá K, Drozdová E, Skoupý R, Chocholová E, Krzyžánek V, Světlík I, Delgado Miranda D, González Fernández M, Rangel Rivero A, Begerock A-M, 2024: NEW INSIGHTS TO REVEAL THE POSSIBLE GUANCHE ORIGIN OF THE CUBAN MUMMY OF THE “PERUVIAN MINER”. Anthropologie (Brno) 62, 2: 97-110'. |
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| Abstract | | The Montané Anthropological Museum of the University of Havana in Cuba houses a male mummy in its collection, which is called the “Peruvian Miner”. During the 1970s, the origin of this mummy was determined to be Peruvian. The supine body position of the mummy was believed to be the result of an accident in a “Peruvian Mine”, one that prevented a burial in a squat position, which was typical for pre-Columbian cultures. Recent research in 2015 has shown that this male individual is not in a squat position. A macroscopic investigation, especially observing most of all the positioning of the body, but also the type of mummification of the body and its preservation did suggest a possible origin from the pre-Hispanic inhabitants of Tenerife, (Canary Islands, today Spain), the Guanche. Three approaches were used to verify or refute the South American origin of the mummy and approve the hypothesis that it might be a Guanche. The first approach was to rule out the possibility that he was a miner. Therefore, elemental non-destructive analysis was performed by scanning electron microscopy with an energy-dispersive X-ray detector (SEM-EDX) to reveal possible contamination by metals mined in Latin America. The second approach was a genetic analysis. Mitochondrial ancient DNA (mtDNA) is more resistant to degradation than nuclear DNA in skeletal remains, due to the high number of mtDNA in the cell and its circular character. The poor preservation of DNA in the mummies was the reason for studying the whole mitogenome. This type of molecule has matrilineal inheritance, so it was used to trace the origin of the mummy. The third approach was radiocarbon dating to confirm or discard the pre-Columbian origin of the mummy. | | | | Keywords | | Mummy of “Peruvian Miner” – Museo Montané –Cuba – aDNA – mtDNA - Electron microscopy – Radiocarbon dating – SEM-EDX detector | | | | DOI | | https://doi.org/10.26720/anthro.24.03.27.1 | | |
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