title: The genetic evidence for human origin of Jivaroan shrunken heads in collections from the Polish museums.
abstract: Advances in forensic identification using molecular genetics are helpful in resolving some historical mysteries. The aim of this study was to confirm the authenticity of shrunken-head artifacts exhibited by two Polish museums. Shrunken heads, known as tsantsas, were headhunting trophies of South American Indians (Jivaroan). A special preparation preserved their hair and facial appearance. However, it was quite common to offer counterfeit shrunken heads of sloths or monkeys to collectors of curiosities. We sampled small skin specimens of four shrunken-head skin from the museum collection from Warsaw and Krakow, Poland. Following genomic DNA isolation, highly polymorphic short tandem repeats were genotyped using a commercial chemistry and DNA sequencing analyzer. Haplogroups of human Y chromosome were identified. We obtained an informative genetic profile of genomic short tandem repeats from all the samples of shrunken heads. Moreover, amplification of amelogenin loci allowed for sex determination. All four studied shrunken heads were of human origin. In two ones, a shared Y-chromosome haplogroup Q characteristic for Indigenous Americans was detected. Another artifact was counterfeited because Y-chromosome haplogroup I2 was found, characteristic for the Southeastern European origin. Commercial genetic methods of identification can be applied successfully in studies on the origin and authenticity of some unusual collection items.
authors.affiliation: Present address: Department of Forensic Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Grzegorzecka Str. 16, 31-531, Krakow, Poland. danuta.piniewska@uj.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Danuta
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8307-9145
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Piniewska
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanak
authors.affiliation: Present address: Department of Forensic Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Grzegorzecka Str. 16, 31-531, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wojtas
authors.affiliation: Present address: Department of Forensic Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Grzegorzecka Str. 16, 31-531, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Polanska
mesh_terms: D053523:Amelogenin / Q000235:genetics; D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D005838:Genotype; D006197:Hair / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006239:Haplotypes; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American / Q000235:genetics* / Q000266:history; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D009144:Museums; D011044:Poland; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D053523:Amelogenin
keywords: Forensic identification; Short tandem repeats; Tsantsa/shrunken head; Y-chromosome haplotype