Researcher Daniel Fernandes takes a DNA sample of the remains.© Adrian Daly
Posted on 02/04/2026 6:02:09 AM PST by SunkenCiv
According to a statement released by the University of Vienna, an international team of researchers has identified a rare genetic condition in the remains of a mother and daughter who were buried in an embrace in the same grave more than 12,000 years ago. The burial was discovered in 1963 at Grotta del Romito in southern Italy. Romito 1, the remains of a woman who stood under five feet tall, held the remains of Romito 2, an adolescent girl with pronounced limb shortening, and an estimated height of about 3.5 feet. DNA analysis also showed that the daughter carried two copies of a variant in the NPR2 gene, confirming a diagnosis of acromesomelic dysplasia, Maroteaux type, a rare inherited disorder characterized by short stature and shortening of the limbs. "We believe her survival would have required sustained support from her group, including help with food and mobility in a challenging environment," said Alfred Coppa of Sapienza University. Her mother was found to have one copy of the gene variant, accounting for her milder short stature. "Rare genetic diseases are not a modern phenomenon but have been present throughout human history," commented team member Adrian Daly of Liège University Hospital Center. To read about Paleolithic burials in a cave in northwestern Italy, go to "Ice Age Necropolis."
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
Researcher Daniel Fernandes takes a DNA sample of the remains.© Adrian Daly
proof that the daughter was transgender... oh, wait, what?
Turns out her *name* was Jan Trensder.
So NPR was bad, even as far back as 12,000 years ago? Wow!
Really? 12,000 years ago? The cold truth is that they probably let her fend for herself and die early. They didn't have the resources to give her "sustained support."
How did they determine the were mother/daughter? Maybe they both ID’d as men. If understand the trans activists, genes and chromosomes don’t matter. It’s all about your mental illness.
Because of their DNA, how else?
Sez you.
Was any other information given to explain why they were buried together. I don’t think they let one body hang around to be buried with the other’s natural death. Likelihoods could be disease, murder, or starvation. I hope the DNA study is only the beginning of diagnosing this mistery. It is disappointing to see your careful search for interesting posts be disrespected by tasteless, politically oriented jokes.
Southern Italy should have had a relatively mild climate. The fact the mother could raise her compromised child to teen age level suggests community support for both mother and child. It will be interesting to know what finally caused their simultaneous death. Disease, war, family or community violence, climate changes like severe drought, toxic food from bacteria or using unusual products (mushrooms?). So many interesting facts have been found from the frozen body found in the Alps. Five thousand years was so much newer, imagine the potential finds in 2 bodies 12,000 year old.
Thanks! There's an analogous find from decades ago, a Neandertal skeleton showing horrendous multiple injuries that presumably resulted from hunting mammoth or some such, and the healing of them to the extent possible in those conditions means that his eventual crippled body was able to endure thanks to the rest of care and food given by the group sharing the cave, village, treehouse or whatever. Buuuut, y'know, doesn't fit the narrative of some folks.
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