In October 79, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, an explosive volcano, surprised the inhabitants of the city of Pompeii (Italy) and neighboring towns, burying them under several meters of ash and pumice stones. This tragic event froze the city in time, offering archaeologists a unique insight into daily life in Roman times.
An international team of researchers has just got their hands on some very interesting new information concerning the inhabitants of Pompeii, or rather the victims. By analyzing the DNA of fourteen bodies, they have demonstrated that certain historical interpretations, although accepted for decades, were largely erroneous. The results of their research were published on November 7 in the magazine Current Biology.
DNA challenges Pompeii legends
The teams from the University of Florence and Harvard have accomplished a remarkable technical feat: extract and analyze DNA from human remains almost two millennia oldimprisoned in the famous plaster casts. Of the 86 bodies being restored, fourteen were successfully studied and the results astounded the researchers.
The most striking example concerns a scene that has become iconic: an adult wearing a gold bracelet, frozen in a protective posture with a child. This image, long interpreted as the final embrace between a mother and her son, hides a very different reality. Genetic analysis ultimately revealed that it was a man, without any relation to the child.
Identities shaken up by modern science
The surprises multiplied throughout the analyses. Another famous duo, traditionally presented as two sisters or a mother and daughter, was revealed to include at least one man. These revelations somewhat upset our presuppositions on gender roles and family structures in Roman society.
Indeed, traditional representations of the Roman family, with clearly defined roles for men and womenare therefore undermined. The example of the protective man with a child thus calls into question the idea that only women had a role in caring for and protecting children.
Perhaps family structures in Pompeii were more diverse and complex than previously thought. There were possibly blended families, same-sex couples or very strong friendly relationships between individuals of different ages and sexes.
David Caramelli, an archaeologist at the University of Florence and co-author of the study, explains: “ This study demonstrates how narratives based on limited evidence can be misleading. Previous interpretations reflected the prejudices of researchers of their time more than historical reality “. The so-called sciences hardlike genetics, can therefore also be influenced by our own cultural biases and distort our reading of the past.
A Roman city with a thousand faces
The study was not limited to the identification of victims; the researchers have combined genetic analysis and the study of strontium isotopes. The latter is an element present in rocks, soil and water and its isotopic composition varies according to geographical regions. By analyzing the isotopic composition of strontium in an individual’s teeth or bones, one can, for example; determine the regions where it lived and fed during its growth.
By combining these two approaches, researchers can obtain a much more detailed and nuanced picture of an individual’s life at a given moment. x. This allowed the team to draw up an unexpected portrait of the Pompeian population at the time of the eruption.
Far from being a homogeneous community, Pompeii now appears as a surprisingly cosmopolitan city. The majority of individuals studied were descended from immigrants from the eastern Mediterranean, testifying to the incredible cultural mix that characterized the Roman Empire.
Harvard archaeogeneticist Alyssa Mittnik explains how important this discovery is : “ Our findings have major implications for the interpretation of archaeological data and the understanding of ancient societies. They also highlight the importance of integrating genetic data with archaeological and historical information to avoid erroneous interpretations based on modern presumptions. This study also highlights (…) broader patterns of mobility and cultural exchange within the Roman Empire”.
These new revelations about the victims of Pompeii are part of a broader movement of a certain archaeological revival. Over the past ten years, the analysis of ancient DNA has completely revolutionized our understanding of ancient societies: human migrations, family dynamics, pandemics, climate change, etc. These recent discoveries perfectly illustrate this trend and prove that this ancient tragedy has not yet revealed all its mysteries.
- DNA analysis of Pompeii victims has revealed errors in historical interpretations, shattering long-accepted legends.
- These discoveries show a cosmopolitan population, with more complex family structures than imagined.
- The researchers behind this study emphasize the importance of combining genetics and archeology to avoid interpretations influenced by our modern biases.
