DNA Kinship Matching
Definition
The process of identifying conflict casualties by comparing DNA extracted from skeletal remains to reference samples from known descendants, using STR profiles or SNP data. Used when documentary evidence (identity discs, dental records) is absent or ambiguous.
- Purpose
- Identify conflict casualties via relatives' DNA
- Sample source
- Skeletal remains
- Reference source
- Known descendants
- Data types used
- STR profiles or SNP data
- Used when
- Documentary evidence absent or ambiguous
Common questions
Why is kinship matching used instead of a direct DNA database match for war-dead identification?+
Conflict casualties usually have no prior DNA sample on file, so investigators instead compare the remains' profile statistically against living relatives' DNA to establish a biological relationship consistent with the missing person.
What makes kinship matching harder for older or commingled skeletal remains?+
Degraded and low-quantity DNA from old or commingled bone reduces the number of usable loci, weakening the statistical strength of a kinship comparison and sometimes requiring SNP-based methods that work with more fragmented DNA than standard STR kits.
Related terms
- CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission)
- The international organisation, established by Royal Charter in 1917, responsible for commemorating Commonwealth military casualties of the First and Second World Wars....
- Identity Disc
- A metal disc worn around the neck by military personnel bearing name, number, unit, and religion. In WWI British forces used two-disc...
- Ordnance Survey Grid
- In the context of conflict archaeology, the systematic metal-detector transect grid laid out before excavation begins, used both to locate metallic finds...
- Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)
- Ammunition, shells, grenades, or bombs that were deployed but did not detonate, remaining live in the ground decades or centuries after the...
- Wound Track
- The path of tissue disruption left by a projectile passing through a body. Consists of a permanent cavity (crushed tissue) and a...