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Human remains from Tanzania: Confirmation of relationships to living persons for the first time
Press release from 09/05/2023
Provenance research on human remains leads to modern-day descendants for the first time - DNA analysis proves clear relationships
In a project launched in 2017, the Museum of Prehistory and Early History of the National Museums in Berlin, together with scientists from Rwanda, analysed the provenance of around 1100 skulls from the former colony of German East Africa. DNA analyses have now made it possible for the first time to prove clear relationships. The relatives and the government of Tanzania will now be informed as soon as possible.
Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK, explained: "Finding a match like this is a minor miracle and will probably remain a rare case despite the most careful provenance research. We are therefore all the more delighted and would like to thank Konradin Kunze and Berlin Postkolonial for their support."
As part of the museum's provenance research, sufficient information was gathered on eight skulls that a search for specific descendants seemed promising. The SPK therefore decided to have a molecular genetic analysis carried out at the University of Göttingen. This was realised in collaboration with Konradin Kunze and Berlin Postkolonial, who procured saliva samples from a total of ten reference persons from Tanzania.
One skull was found to be a complete genetic match with a male person who is still alive today. The title "Akida" on the skull had already indicated that the deceased individual could be a high-ranking advisor to Mangi Meli. The match with the DNA sample of a direct descendant of Akida confirmed this assumption. For another family, also from the Chagga people, an almost complete match of the paternal lines (Y-STRs) was identified in two more of the eight skulls analysed. A direct biological relationship in an uninterrupted paternal line is at least probable in these cases.
Information on human remains at the Museum of Prehistory and Early History
As part of a pilot project, the provenance of over 1000 skulls from the former colony of German East Africa was analysed at the Museum of Prehistory and Early History. 904 skulls could be assigned to areas in present-day Rwanda, 197 to Tanzania and 27 to Kenya. Seven could not be matched. The results of this pilot project, funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation, were published in the book "Human Remains from the Former German Colony of East Africa" (ISBN 978-3-412-52344-2) edited by Bernhard Heeb and Charles Mulinda Kabwete.
The human remains examined belong to the anthropological collection of around 7,700 skulls that the SPK took over from the Charité in 2011 in extremely poor condition. Before the provenance research began, the Museum of Prehistory and Early History had initially cleaned and conserved them at great expense. Many of them come from the so-called "S Collection", which Felix von Luschan collected from almost all parts of the world at the turn of the century. Other remains come from the skull collection of the former anatomical institute of the Charité, as well as from other smaller collections. After the First World War, scientific interest in the anthropological collections waned considerably and they gradually fell into oblivion. The Museum of Prehistory and Early History is currently working on the re-identification of around 500 skulls from the former German colonies in West Africa in cooperation with scientists from the countries of origin and with the support of the BKM. The results should be available in published form towards the end of 2024.
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