Complete mitochondrial genome sequencing reveals double-buried Jomon individuals excavated from the Ikawazu shell-mound site were not in a mother–child relationship

Abstract

A draft whole genome sequence of a Jomon woman from the Ikawazu shell-mound site has been reported recently. The adult woman, IK002, was excavated with a child, IK001. Because of the burial situation with the child located above the adult, the two individuals were thought to be a mother– child relationship. In this study, we conducted a target capture sequencing, and obtained 258-fold coverage of the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome sequence of IK001. Comparing the mtDNA nucleotide sequences of IK001 and IK002, we found these were unambiguously different from each other. Thus, the mitogenome sequence analysis clarified that both have a non-mother–child relationship. This result sheds new light on the relationship between burial and kinship in Jomon archaeology.