What can aDNA analysis tell us more on an old funerary discovery?

This study presents the first ancient mitochondrial DNA (amtDNA) results obtained by sampling human bones selected from an Early Bronze Age funerary context with the aim of identifying the haplogroup and starting to build an amtDNA reference database based on samples selected from Eastern Romania. The human bones analysed in this study were part of the Stoicani “Cetățuia” (Galați county) necropolis located in the Covurlui Plateau. The M6 funerary context does not contain any grave goods, his chronological and cultural characteristics being inferred based on its association with similar funerary contexts in the necropolis. The amtDNA obtained by analysing osteological remains attributed to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in the Eastern Romania region helped us to identify the coexistence of different communities in the timespan characterized by accentuated human group mobility.