Defense Date
2024
Document Type
Directed Research Project
First Advisor
Tal Simmons
Second Advisor
Baneshwar Singh
Third Advisor
Filipa Simao
Fourth Advisor
Kofi Afrifah
Abstract
In April 1994, during the construction of the Kontos Building at the Medical College of Virginia on East Marshall Street, a well was discovered to contain artifacts and human remains, mainly of African American descent. Archaeologists were given a limited time to recover the remains and artifacts discarded over numerous years. This, together with the improper excavation of the well, resulted in a commingled assemblage of skeletal remains and material. The anthropological analysis discovered remains of 44 adults and nine children which were dated back to the mid-19th century when grave robbing and the use of cadavers of African descent in medical schools were common practices.
Addressing one of the recommendations of the Family Representative Committee (a committee of community representatives), genetic reassociation and pair-matching of long bones recovered from the East Marshall Street Well into individuals had been performed using insertion/null genetic markers (INNULs). Part of this project included genotyping insertion/null (INNULS) for crania and mandibles in attempt to pair match to the individual groups.
Aiming to address FRC recommendations on reconstructing regional genetic ancestry, after groups of individuals were finalized, ancestry and phenotypic informative markers were genotyped, using Primer B of ForenSeq™ DNA Signature Prep Kit on the MiSeq FGx sequencing system, and mitochondrial DNA control region was sequenced through Sanger Sequencing. Universal analysis software was used to predict the biological sex, hair color, eye color, and ancestral origin of the 15 Individuals. Ancestry proportions were calculated using STRUCTURE software, for K=3 (African, European, and Native American continental contributions). Paternal haplogroups were predicted with NevGen software using data for 24 Y-STRs, for those samples typed with Primer B of ForenSeq™ DNA Signature Prep Kit. Mitochondrial DNA haplotypes were obtained with SeqScape and haplogroups were determined with EMPOP database. Sample pair V09C/F29R was grouped with the other bones from Individual 15, and sample pair V10C/V10CM was grouped with Individual 9. The majority of the individuals showed brown eyes, with black and brown hair in some Individuals. While most individuals exhibited primarily African ancestry, European ancestry was also observed in some individuals. Mitochondria DNA haplogroups were determined for two of the 15 Individuals. Individual 1 had haplogroup L1b2a from Africa, and Individual 15 had L1c haplogroup, also of African origin. Three of the four Y-STR profiles obtained belonged to haplogroups from Africa; haplogroup B2a1-M218, E1b1a -V38, and B2b-M112, while the other one was predicted to be European (R1b-M269). These findings hold substantial historical and cultural significance, especially for the Richmond community, as they aid in honoring and properly memorializing the Individuals recovered from the EMSW.
Rights
© The Author(s)
Is Part Of
VCU Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects
Date of Submission
12-12-2024