Discovered skeleton’s sample sent to Hyderabad for DNA test

BHUBANESWAR: Sample of the skeleton discovered from Baanga village near Harirajpur in Puri district, 15 km from here, has been sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad for DNA test to know further information about the skeleton, said Paleopathologist and retired head of the Department of Anthropology, University of Pune, Prof S R Walimbe while addressing the Press at Utkal University campus here on Sunday.

The skeleton of an adult male, which was excavated during the month of February this year, belongs to Chalcolithic age dating approximately 2000 to 1500 BC (3,500 years old), revealed the expert team including Prof Kishore K Basa of Anthropology department in Utkal University, Dr Veena Mushrif Tripathy from Anthropology department of Deccan College of Pune and Prof Walimbe.

Experts said the age of the male (skeleton) was in between 35 and 40, height 5 ft 7 inch and was a healthy person. His hand got fractured when he was 25 and it was later fixed in a natural way, the team added.

They didn’t find the foot as it was already cut during the time of death, the team felt and added that it was a normal death of the person as the normal age was 40 then. The team would do x-ray on the skeleton to know the ancient treatment of bone fracture. They would do the test of carbon dating to know the exact age of the skeleton, informed the team.

“The research so far is at a preliminary stage. After proper anthropological investigation on the skeleton, we would give the details,” asserted Prof Basa. He continued, “We are sending the samples for carbon dating and the precise data would come after getting the result of the test.”   Presently, the expert team is conducting anthropological investigation on the adult male human skeleton, said sources.