Starchild Skull

Introduction

The initial rounds of testing the Starchild's genomic (nuclear) DNA are now complete, and the results are that it is male, and from a forensic standpoint it is human. There is more to it than that, of course, because of the greater insights that might be available through diagnostic testing, which is more extensive and expensive than we have been able to afford up to this point. So what we will do now is go through the testing that has been done, outlining the results, and after that we will discuss various views of what the results mean and how they have been interpreted.

The tests were conducted by Dr. David Sweet, Director of the Bureau of Legal Dentistry (BOLD) at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. BOLD is one of the world's best forensic laboratories for the analysis and study of DNA from calcified tissues, usually dealing with forensic cases less than 50 years old. (The Starchild skulls have recently been dated at 900 years old.) Dr. Sweet is an odontologist (dental expert). During his work with the Starchild skull, he was assisted by his Research Associate, Dr. Dean Hildebrand, a molecular biologist. The academic credentials of both men are extensive and impressive, and their professional reputations are impeccable (Sauer, 65).



Discussion and Analysis

They conducted a series of five genomic (nuclear) DNA tests: (1) one on the adult skull found with the Starchild skull; (2) one on the piece of detached maxilla alleged to be an integral part of the Starchild skull (see previous reports on this site for an explanation of the detached piece of maxilla and its probable connection to the skull); (3) one on a piece of bone from the Starchild skull known as an occipital condyle (a piece of the foramen magnum, or neck hole opening); (4) one on the Starchild's right mastoid bone (behind the ear); and (5) one a rectangular "window" cut from the right-side parietal bone (the right side of the skull above the ear).

The first test (1) was on the adult skull, with results in on Nov. 2, 1999. Human genomic DNA was extracted and typed from the adult's skull using a screening test called AmpFISTR-Blue (3 genetic loci) plus Amelogenin (gender determination). Results reveal that the DNA extracted from the adult skull (occipital condyle) is from a female person. A genetic profile at three forensically significant loci has been obtained.

This means everything went well and predictably with the adult skull. The condyle bone's surface was sanded down to remove the usual traces of human contact, and the remainder was chemically cleaned, crushed to powder, and prepared for testing. The Amelogenin test, which indicates male or female, clearly showed female. Then a screening test of only three genetic areas--the 3 loci (DNA sites)--was able to detect all of the DNA required to provide a genetic profile of the female. This ease of extraction can be attributed to the fact the human skull was not buried in the soil of ...