The DNA of West Cork People
Mark Grace is a genetic genealogist and family historian at Ballynoe House, Ardfield, Co. Cork
The Nazca Desert in Peru is most famous for the plain with ‘the lines’ or geoglyphs. It is particularly notorious for the so-called Nazca Mummies, specifically the desiccated tridactyl ‘beings’ (three fingers, three toes) found in a cave. There has always been a lot of uniformed speculation about these particular set of remains that very much wanted them to be aliens. Fortunately, DNA is now providing the truth. DNA techniques have come a long way in recent years. Even where there are no bodies excavations have made it possible to extract DNA from the soil of cave floors to identify former residents (perhaps humans) that once lived within.
Earlier in the year my article on Sasquatch ‘Bigfoot’ reported that this creature of legend is indeed real, based on DNA from more than a hundred samples, and can trace its lineage back to the dawn of Homo sapiens. It is a hybrid of modern humans on the female side and an older, hereto unknown hominid, on the male side. As modern humans, we have only been around (at the last count) for 300,000 years and are ourselves hybrids of Neanderthals, Denisovans and a third yet unrecognised early hominid. Whether this is the same one as Bigfoot or a different one is yet to be revealed. The evolutionary tree of Man is not very clear at all, especially when considering recent studies of Homo longi ‘Dragon Man’ in China and Homo floresiensis ‘Hobbits’ on the island of Flores in Indonesia. Whatever the current paradigms, assumptions are being challenged all the time.
The tridactyl mummy named ‘Maria’ has added new data to the story of evolution. The first surprise was that Maria was a male, so is now known as ‘Mario’! In a groundbreaking scientific investigation over seven years, biologists, and experts in immunogenetics and regenerative medicine, have opened up a new debate similar to that of the Bigfoot DNA study, although you will not find many people talking about it.
The key findings are that the Y chromosome (male lineage) puts the mummies firmly in the genus Pan (i.e. showing both bonobo and chimpanzee genomes), so it is neither a hominid nor indeed an alien. The mitochondrial DNA haplogroup analysis traced the specimen’s maternal lineage to ancient human in the Myanmar region, a finding that adds complexity to the specimen’s origins. The implication of the latter suggests a backward migration of some early humans into Africa sometime in the past to result in this unique hybrid. The current hypothesis and anatomical evidence suggest natural hybridisation probably took place 200,000 to 300,000 years ago, which is just after our own species emerged and went through a similar process, as did sasquatch.
The African origins of these creatures are supported by additional DNA from the trypanosome parasite, which is transmitted by tsetse flies and endemic only to specific regions of Central Africa today, particularly the Congo region. Additionally, the presence of Plasmodium, another parasite not native to the Nazca area supports this.
The tridactyl adaptation of these specimens suggests an arboreal habit (tree living) and that they occupied an ecological niche similar to present-day three-toed sloths in the Americas. Mario appeared to have suffered from sepsis in life, which was the ultimate cause of death. Osteolysis (bone infection) and associated markers indicated chronic infection, possibly related to a trypanosome infection acquired in Africa. The specimen also suffered from a genetic malformation known as ‘pectus excavatum’ (sunken chest) appearing in five or six other specimens, typical of likely inbreeding within a small and isolated population.
While some of the main questions have been answered, a lot of mystery still remains. There are (as far as we know) no sloth-like creatures living in Africa, so they can be assumed to be either extinct or yet to be discovered deep in the jungles of Congo. The remains have been dated to 1770-years-old plus or minus 30-years-old by Carbon-14 dating, so they were probably brought to Peru as pets in the 250-350 AD period during the height of the Inca period. This reveals transpacific or transatlantic oceanic trade or expeditions between South America and the African continent, which is not widely considered by anthropologists. I could also explain some unusual DNA markers in some South American human populations. Archaeologists certainly do not accept this, despite evidence to the contrary.
These creatures also had metal implants (which are partly responsible for the ideal they may be aliens) and work is yet to identify the purpose of these. A more prosaic explanation is likely. The Incas and Nasca peoples were noted to have conducted certain medical and surgical practices (such a trepanning), so perhaps it not so surprising they may have tried to intervene with animals that were known to be sick or suffering.
DNA has shone a light both on the origins of these creatures but also a lot more about modern humans living in South America in the third and fourth centuries. Real scientific data can provide as good a story as any conspiracy or speculative fiction.
Questions can be emailed to DNAmatchingprojects@gmail.com. Private client services also available. Follow the West Cork DNA blog on Facebook ‘My Irish Genealogy and DNA’.
