The pictures in the article show the guy holding the skulls with his bare hands. Unless those are replicas, and the original skulls have been handled only by people wearing gloves, the “European and Middle Eastern” DNA signatures are most likely from people handling the skulls. Considering those skulls were found in 1928, long before anyone had the idea of protecting samples from contamination by researchers, there has been plenty of opportunity to contaminate those skulls. I do not discount that people might have come to the Americas across the Atlantic in prehistoric times, but this “analysis” does not add to any evidence in support of this hypothesis.
In addition, Marzulli describes the foramen magnum as being positioned further back than one finds in a normal human skull. This is to support his “hypothesis” that these are some kind of human-alien hybrid, I suppose. But looking at the position of the foramen magnum in the skull he is holding and comparing it with normal skulls, it is apparent that the only reason the structure looks like it is further back is because of the skull deformation. The mass of the skull and its volume do not change because of intentional deformation, but the proportions of height x depth x width do change. In order to make the skulls longer, they had to be made narrower. And that shifting of mass came in part from the back of the skull—thus, resulting in a shorter distance from the foramen magnum to the “new” back of the skull. The distance of the foramen magnum to the jawline is consistent with that of normal skulls, confirming that the position of the structure is consistent with known human anatomy.
Anyway, despite his paying for DNA analysis services, this guy is not a scientist and can’t pass himself off as one on TV. He’s just another crackpot coming up with a zany idea, looking for “evidence” to support it.
Very interesting, exDemMom.
It would be beyond stupid to take DNA samples from the exposed surface of the skulls. SURELY the DNA samples would be taken from bone matter below the surface. No scientist in his right mind would use a surface sample from a 2000 year old specimen. There is no way.
thanks. An intelligent and informed comment.
Have been reading on Eurogenes blog that evidence seems to indicate that in fact there was a back-migration from Berengia and North America about 70,000 years ago. Also the X chromosome is found in both American Indians and rarely in north Europeans.