In 1991, the skeletal remains of Tsar Nicolas II and his wife Tsarina Alexandra were identified among the nine sets of remains recovered from a mass gravesite in Russia. Evidence from the bone fragments indicated the sex and age, but the dental work and DNA evidence provided a more definite identification.
The Russians labeled the skeletons numerically. Skeletal remains 7 were of a middle-aged woman whose ribs showed possible signs of damage from bayonet thrusts. Dr. Lowell Levine, forensic odontologist, noted her elaborate and beautiful dental work. Two crowns were made of platinum and other crowns were made from porcelain with gold fillings. This type of dental work was practiced in Germany, Alexandra’s homeland. None of the servants would have been able to afford such expensive dental work. Therefore, skeletal remains 7 were identified as belonging to the tsarina, Alexandra.
Skeletal remains 4 were identified as Tsar Nicholas II. The skeleton was of a fairly short middle-aged man with signs of wear and deformation in the hipbones, possibly a result of years of riding on horseback. The skull was wide with a sloping forehead and a flat palate resembling Tsar Nicholas II . The teeth had evidence of periodontal disease.
The forensic team’s next concern was to determine if any of the remaining seven skeletons belonged to the Romanov children. One method used, along with the skeletal and dental analyses, was STR analysis. The American scientists were able to identify three of the Romanov daughters, Olga, Maria, and Tatiana. The four other skeletal remains in the mass gravesite belonged to three servants and a physician. The remains of the youngest children, Alexei the Crown Prince and Anastasia, were not found in this gravesite. Their remains were discovered in 2006 in a second gravesite.
In this activity, you will examine the data obtained from the nine STR profile analyses of the skeletal remains of the bodies found in the 1991 mass gravesite and determine which of the nine skeletal remains belong to the Romanov children.