| Revision as of 16:04, 17 March 2011 editSteven J. Anderson (talk | contribs)19,983 edits →Analysis: copyedit← Previous edit | Revision as of 16:22, 17 March 2011 edit undoAdam Cuerden (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, File movers, Pending changes reviewers52,427 edits Restore 2 sectionsNext edit → | ||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
| ==Analysis== | ==Analysis== | ||
| Steven Novella of Yale University Medical School concludes that the cranium exhibits all of the characteristics of a child who has died as a result of ], and that the cranial deformations were the result of accumulations of cerebrospinal fluid within the skull. ] in 1999 found standard ] and ]s in two samples taken from the skull, conclusive evidence that the child was not only human (and male), but that both of his parents were human, since each contributed one sex chromosome.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=xmDnhPNLwYwC&pg=PA246&dq=starchild+a+deformed+skull,+a+secret+cave&hl=en&ei=1xqCTZHzEdKltweUyqnMBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=starchild%20a%20deformed%20skull%2C%20a%20secret%20cave&f=false | title=Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis to the Walam Olum | accessdate=March 17, 2011 | author=Feder, Kenneth L. | date=2010 | publisher=ABC-CLIO}}</ref> | Steven Novella of Yale University Medical School concludes that the cranium exhibits all of the characteristics of a child who has died as a result of ], and that the cranial deformations were the result of accumulations of cerebrospinal fluid within the skull. ] in 1999 found standard ] and ]s in two samples taken from the skull, conclusive evidence that the child was not only human (and male), but that both of his parents were human, since each contributed one sex chromosome.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=xmDnhPNLwYwC&pg=PA246&dq=starchild+a+deformed+skull,+a+secret+cave&hl=en&ei=1xqCTZHzEdKltweUyqnMBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=starchild%20a%20deformed%20skull%2C%20a%20secret%20cave&f=false | title=Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis to the Walam Olum | accessdate=March 17, 2011 | author=Feder, Kenneth L. | date=2010 | publisher=ABC-CLIO}}</ref> | ||
| ===Dating=== | |||
| ] was performed twice, the first on the normal human skull at the University of California at Riverside in 1999, and on the Starchild skull in 2004 at Beta Analytic in ]. Both tests provided results of 900 years ± 40 years since death.<ref>(Pye, L. 2007, pp. 206-7 and p. 218)</ref>{{full}} | |||
| ===DNA testing=== | |||
| ] in 1999 at BOLD<!--what does the acronym stand for?-->, a ] DNA lab in ] found standard ] and ]s in two samples taken from the skull, "conclusive evidence that the child was not only human (and male), but both of his parents must have been human as well, for each must have contributed one of the human sex chromosomes".<ref name="Novella">http://www.theness.com/index.php/the-starchild-project/</ref> Further DNA testing at Trace Genetics, which specializes in extracting DNA from ancient samples, in 2003 recovered ] from both skulls. The child belongs to ]. Since mitochondrial DNA is inherited exclusively from the mother, it makes it possible to trace the offspring's maternal lineage. The DNA test therefore confirmed that the child's mother was a Haplogroup C human female. However, the adult female found with the child belonged to ]. Both haplotypes are characteristic ] haplogroups, but the different haplogroup for each skull indicates that the adult female was not the child's mother. Trace Genetics obtained nuclear DNA, which contains chromosomes from both the father and the mother, from the adult female, but was not able to recover useful lengths of ] or Y-chromosomal DNA of the father from the Starchild skull, despite conducting six consecutive tests. The founders of Trace Genetics stated that "he inability to analyze nuclear DNA indicates that such DNA is either not present or present in sufficiently low copy number to prevent PCR analysis using methods available at the present time." <ref>Eshleman & Malhi </ref> | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 16:22, 17 March 2011
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Starchild skull" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Starchild skull is an abnormal human skull allegedly found in Mexico that is claimed by paranormal researchers to be the product of extraterrestrial-human breeding. DNA recovered from the skull establishes it as human.
Discovery
According to purveyors of the tale, an unnamed American stumbled upon a grave in Mexico containing the remains of an adult female and young child. The remains were supposedly brought to the United States and passed from owner to owner until retained by an American couple living in Texas. Paranormal researcher Lloyd Pye says he obtained the skull from Ray and Melanie Young of El Paso, Texas, in February 1999. According to Pye, the skull was found around 1930 in a mine tunnel about 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Chihuahua, Mexico, buried alongside a normal human skeleton that was exposed and lying supine on the surface of the tunnel.
Claims
Pye's "Starchild Project" supporters claim that the skull is that of an extraterrestrial infant, or the hybrid offspring of an extraterrestrial and a human female. According to Pye, a dentist determined, based on examination of the upper right maxilla found with the skull, that it was a child's skull, 4.5 to 5 years in age, however, the volume of the interior of the starchild skull is 1,600 cubic centimeters, which is 200 cm³ larger than the average adult's brain, and 400 cm³ larger than an adult of the same approximate size. The orbits are oval and shallow, with the optic nerve canal situated closer to the bottom of the orbit than to the back. There are no frontal sinuses. The back of the skull is flattened. The skull consists of calcium hydroxyapatite, the normal material of mammalian bone. Pye says that Carbon 14 dating was performed twice, the first on the normal human skull at the University of California at Riverside in 1999, and on the Starchild skull in 2004 at Beta Analytic in Miami, and both tests provided results of 900 years ± 40 years since death.
Analysis
Steven Novella of Yale University Medical School concludes that the cranium exhibits all of the characteristics of a child who has died as a result of congenital hydrocephalus, and that the cranial deformations were the result of accumulations of cerebrospinal fluid within the skull. DNA testing in 1999 found standard X and Y chromosomes in two samples taken from the skull, conclusive evidence that the child was not only human (and male), but that both of his parents were human, since each contributed one sex chromosome.
Dating
Carbon 14 dating was performed twice, the first on the normal human skull at the University of California at Riverside in 1999, and on the Starchild skull in 2004 at Beta Analytic in Miami. Both tests provided results of 900 years ± 40 years since death.
DNA testing
DNA testing in 1999 at BOLD, a forensic DNA lab in Vancouver, British Columbia found standard X and Y chromosomes in two samples taken from the skull, "conclusive evidence that the child was not only human (and male), but both of his parents must have been human as well, for each must have contributed one of the human sex chromosomes". Further DNA testing at Trace Genetics, which specializes in extracting DNA from ancient samples, in 2003 recovered mitochondrial DNA from both skulls. The child belongs to haplogroup C. Since mitochondrial DNA is inherited exclusively from the mother, it makes it possible to trace the offspring's maternal lineage. The DNA test therefore confirmed that the child's mother was a Haplogroup C human female. However, the adult female found with the child belonged to haplogroup A. Both haplotypes are characteristic Native American haplogroups, but the different haplogroup for each skull indicates that the adult female was not the child's mother. Trace Genetics obtained nuclear DNA, which contains chromosomes from both the father and the mother, from the adult female, but was not able to recover useful lengths of nuclear DNA or Y-chromosomal DNA of the father from the Starchild skull, despite conducting six consecutive tests. The founders of Trace Genetics stated that "he inability to analyze nuclear DNA indicates that such DNA is either not present or present in sufficiently low copy number to prevent PCR analysis using methods available at the present time."
References
- Feder, Kenneth L. (2010). "Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis to the Walam Olum". ABC-CLIO. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
- Pye, Lloyd 'Starchild Project'
- Pye, Lloyd. "TERRIBLE TWO'S : Summary of the first Two Years". Starchild Project. Archived from the original on 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ^ McCoy, Max (November 1999). "Star Child". Fortean Times (127): 42–45.
- Feder, Kenneth L. (2010). "Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis to the Walam Olum". ABC-CLIO. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
- Brown, Matthew. "A Report on Maxilla and Dental X-Rays". Starchild Project. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- Robinson, Ted J. "A Preliminary Analysis of a Highly Unusual Human-Like Skull". Starchild Project. Archived from the original on 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- (Pye, L. 2007, pp. 206-7 and p. 218)
- Feder, Kenneth L. (2010). "Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis to the Walam Olum". ABC-CLIO. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
- (Pye, L. 2007, pp. 206-7 and p. 218)
- http://www.theness.com/index.php/the-starchild-project/
- Eshleman & Malhi Trace Genetics "Report on the DNA analysis from skeletal remains from two skulls"
