Ludzkie szczątki wyeksplorowane w zakrystii kościoła św. Andrzeja w Krakowie w świetle analiz anatomo-antropologicznych, biochemicznych i molekularnych

HUMAN REMAINS EXPLORED IN THE SACRISTY OF ST ANDREW’S CHURCH IN KRAKÓW IN LIGHT OF ANATOMICAL, ANTHROPOLOGICAL, BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR ANALYSES The subject of a complex anatomical and anthropological study were the two burials discovered in the sacristy of St Andrew’s Church (kościół św. Andrzeja) in Kraków. The explored skeletons underwent a detailed analysis in order to determine the sex of the dead individuals and their age at the time of death. The tests that were performed also enabled the assessment of pathological changes that could have been the direct or indirect causes of death. The study also involved biochemical tests concerning such aspects as diet and migration patterns, as well as molecular tests based on historical DNA analysis in the context of possible blood relationship. The results of the multifaceted study that included standard anthropological methods, techniques based on stable isotope probing and ancient DNA analysis provided important information about the living conditions in which the two men buried in St Andrew’s Church existed. Body height and concentration of trace elements in their bones and teeth indicated that the two men came from wealthy families. Both of them lived to a ripe old age, and all the pathological changes that were observed in the skeletons were the effects of the natural degenerative process progressing with age. Stable oxygen isotope analysis helped to determine the origin and mobility of the two individuals, and ancient DNA analysis revealed that the two men were not related by blood. The results of the analyses which involved advanced scientific techniques enabled researchers to create a hypothetical picture of the life of the two individuals in a specific historical context.