{"id":1142,"date":"2018-04-06T19:48:02","date_gmt":"2018-04-07T02:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/communicatingscience2017w211\/?p=1142"},"modified":"2018-04-06T19:48:02","modified_gmt":"2018-04-07T02:48:02","slug":"origion-of-the-kwaday-dan-tsinchi-man-inferred-through-mitochondrial-dna-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/communicatingscience2017w211\/2018\/04\/06\/origion-of-the-kwaday-dan-tsinchi-man-inferred-through-mitochondrial-dna-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Origion of The Kw\u00e4day D\u00e4n Ts’\u00ecnchi Man Inferred Through Mitochondrial DNA Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Just imagine, a group of hunters comes across a mummified ice body aged hundreds of years old and you might just be related to this ancient artifact. One may be skeptical about how this unknown body can possibly be related to, but in this day and age science and technology have opened the doors to many extraordinary phenomena, including the analysis of mitochondrial DNA<\/a> (mtDNA) to trace the descendants of unknown bodies like the famous Kw\u00e4day D\u00e4n Ts’\u00ecnchi<\/a>, also known as the Canadian Iceman. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Excavation of the Kw\u00e4day D\u00e4n Ts’\u00ecnchi in BC. Source: Sarah Gaunt (CAFN)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 Maria Monsalve, a senior instructor for the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, completed her post-doctoral training at the University of Cambridge on ancient remains. Her interest and love for mummies allowed her and her colleagues\u2019 proposal from being the first to be chosen to study the Kw\u00e4day D\u00e4n Ts’\u00ecnchi\u2019s tissue samples. Dr. Monsalve\u2019s breakthrough using mtDNA analysis of the Kw\u00e4day D\u00e4n Ts’\u00ecnchi was used to trace back many of the Kw\u00e4day D\u00e4n Ts’\u00ecnchi\u2019s common descendants.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0We had the opportunity to interview Dr. Monsalve about her research on the Kw\u00e4day D\u00e4n Ts’\u00ecnchi to clarify some of the complex concepts and techniques that were used during her study. In this video, Dr. Monsalve describes how she was able to come across working with the tissue samples of the Kw\u00e4day D\u00e4n Ts’\u00ecnchi as well as the advantages of using mtDNA analysis for investigating ancient preservations. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n