Identification of Haplogroups and Molecular Markers in Skeletal Samples Excavated from the Ancient City of Resuloğlu (Uğurludağ, Çorum)

Abstract

Mitochondrial DNA analyses were carried out in order to determine the haplogroups of 6 individuals recovered from the cemetery of Resuloğlu and dated to the Early Bronze Age (EBA III). Using bioinformatics tools, it was determined that two of the individuals belonged to the T2+150 haplogroup and four belonged to the H2a2a1, H32, T2+16189, and J1b7 haplogroups. These results support a link between the origins of the present-day European population and the farmers of the Anatolian Neolithic period. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms revealed T16189C and C150T mutations in four of the six individuals, which are associated with the risk of melanoma and cervical cancer - HPV infection. These molecular findings are consistent with the health profiles of the excavated skeletons, which indicate that the community struggled with infectious and metabolic diseases. This is the first case of cancer detected in human skeletons from the remains of ancient cities in Türkiye and the first case of carcinoma detected at the mitochondrial genome level in Europe.