The Skeletons in Martin's Closet: Human Remains

Written by Katherine McCallister '17

Published November 2014

Randolph College is currently home to approximately 475 Tunisian human remains. Classics Professor Susan Stevens, also a world-renowned archeologist, is sharing remains from the first excavation that she directed. The remains, estimated to be from the 5^th century, were excavated in 1992-1993 by her professional team and multiple students. This past year, Stevens partnered with many others from the Science Department and the Natural History Collection Project (NHCP) so that Randolph could use the bones to “educate the students on the process” of working with remains and to “enjoy the experience”, said Stevens.

Over the course of a year the bones have been sorted, analyzed, and sent out for genetic sequencing by a very large team of professors and students including: Olivia Reed ’16, Katherine Riedel ’15, Kelly Pham ’16, Igor Bayder ’14, NHCP Director Emily Smith, Biology Professors Doug Shedd, and Adam Houlihan.

Bayder worked with other students to sort out the bones from the site, identify the type, spot any signs of trauma or disease or genetic defect, and note size differences that would show whether the person was adult or youth. As a result of repeated disturbances at the excavation site, most of the bones fragmented meaning one person's entire skeleton could be in several different plots; the bones were therefore stored in groups by their type rather than by individual skeleton.

The bones were then cleaned to remove any debris without causing further damage. After that, the focus moved to determining the minimum number of individuals (MNI) and start investigating medical histories, diets, lifestyles, hereditary relationships to other people buried at the site, and likely causes of death.

To facilitate this research, Professor Houlihan and student assistant Pham, who made this her summer research project, worked together to take “tic-tac-sized samples from the teeth,” explained Houlihan. Samples from 60 teeth were then sent out for sequencing of mitochondrial DNA.  Of the 60 samples sent out, 21 samples came back with signs of DNA, of which seven were mitochondrial DNA. Five out of the seven had enough DNA to confirm it was from a human, and two of the five samples showed traces of the Potato Leafroll Virus. Finding this particular virus was curious since potatoes were not believed to be in Tunisia at this time period.

Houlihan and Pham also used these test to show a small phylogenetic tree demonstrating a hereditary connection between the people the samples came from. Pham and Houlihan set a goal to get samples of all the teeth and have them tested in the hopes of creating a larger phylogenetic tree. This information could then be used with a database for ethnicity to determine if each individual originated from location of the burial site, or if they migrated there. To avoid any contemporary contamination, such as signs of DNA belonging to Houlihan or Pham, Houlihan explains, "we cleaned the teeth using bleach and UV lighting, and for a double measure we sequenced our own mitochondrial DNA in order to compare it to the results.”

Smith describes his experience with access to such incredible artifacts as “very useful real world experiences that most students would have to wait until graduate school to have access to.” 

Bayder shows great enthusiasm about his experience with this project. He is hoping to attend medical school and says that this project gave him “knowledge of the human skeleton and plenty of background information to rely on in my studies.”  

“No one is going to give me that many bones to work with as an undergrad,” says Pham to explain why the experience was so unique and exciting.

For now, the bones will continue to be sampled and genetically sequenced. The team members are hoping to determine the final MNI soon. They also wish to learn more about these people’s lifestyle and regional background.

Professor Stevens plans to leave the remains at Randolph so future students can have access to such experience and can continue “to learn more about these people as a group, so that they are not lost.”