Jak jsme zkoumali Gregora Johanna Mendela. Lekce z historické antropologie a paleogenetiky

eva drozdova, šárka pospíšilová et al.

Title in English: How we researched Gregor Johann Mendel. Lessons in historical anthropology and paleogenetics

The seventh volume from the Munice series presents the unique research project into the remains of the Augustinian abbot and founder of genetics, Gregor Johann Mendel. The fieldwork part of the research took place during the second half of 2021 and involved dozens of scientists and different specialists, in particular archaeologists, anthropologists and geneticists. Some of them contributed to this book, allowing us to witness this adventurous research journey from the grave to state-of-the-art laboratories and an analysis of Mendel’s genome.

Historical anthropology, as understood here, forms part of biological anthropology, a discipline that studies the biological characteristics of humans, such as body structure, blood groups, pigmentation, and resistance to cold and disease. As its name suggests, historical anthropology focuses on the study of human populations from the past. It draws on skeletal remains or mummified bodies obtained through field research, which are then subjected to multidisciplinary analysis. One of its related disciplines is paleogenetics, which investigates the genetic information of historical populations. The origins of this field can be traced back to the 1980s, although its real expansion began in the 1990s. Since then, it has experienced exceptionally rapid development. Paleogenetic methods make it possible to extract mitochondrial or nuclear DNA from the bone or dental tissue of long‑deceased individuals and to analyse it in much the same way as the DNA of living people. Thanks to paleogenetic research, we can learn about historical figures information that they themselves could never have known.

Munice [“ammunition”] is a new popular science series of Masaryk University Press. It brings current topics from natural, social, and human sciences in an accessible form and fresh graphic design. Munice is our contribution to your lifelong learning. Great for high-school graduates planning to go to university and for professionals looking beyond the horizons of their specialisation. Munice is knowledge packed so carefully and densely that you will easily finish each volume in one go on a train from Brno to Prague. Or on a plane to Barcelona. Munice gives space to erudite and charismatic personalities who will engage you with the most current topics. Munice is a window into the knowledge produced at our university.