DNA analysis reveals the sex of infanticide victims

For many centuries, infanticide was an accepted practice for disposing of unwanted babies. We have obtained archaeological evidence of infanticide in Roman Ashkelon, on the southern coast of Israel, where skeletal remains of around 100 babies were discovered in a sewer. In ancient Roman society, inf...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1997-01, Vol.385 (6613), p.212-213
Main Authors: Faerman, Marina, Kahila, Gila, Smith, Patricia, Greenblatt, Charles, Stager, Lawrence, Filon, Dvora, Oppenheim, Ariella
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amelogenin
Dental Enamel Proteins - genetics
DNA
Female
Femur
History of medicine
History, Ancient
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Infanticide - history
Male
multidisciplinary
Paleopathology
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Rome
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
scientific-correspondence
Sex Characteristics
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Summary:For many centuries, infanticide was an accepted practice for disposing of unwanted babies. We have obtained archaeological evidence of infanticide in Roman Ashkelon, on the southern coast of Israel, where skeletal remains of around 100 babies were discovered in a sewer. In ancient Roman society, infanticide was widespread and practised mostly against unwanted female babies. We were therefore surprised when, by analyzing ancient DNA, we found a significant number of male victims in Ashkelon.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/385212a0