Abstract
Palaeogenetics, the study of ancient DNA, provides insights into the genetic composition of past populations. Molecular sex analysis of skeletal material allows researchers to determine the sex of individuals even when morphological characteristics are ambiguous. This method uses specific DNA sequences that are linked to the sex chromosomes. Analysing ancient DNA also allows the identification of pathogens in historical samples. In this way, epidemiologies of earlier civilisations can be reconstructed and the evolution of pathogens can be traced. The palaeogenetic analysis of a bone sample from the “Heilerin von Tarrenz” provided initial evidence for the presence of human DNA in the skeletal material, which was used for further molecular sex analysis. In addition, the extracted DNA was analysed for traces of pathogens. However, an infection with the typhus or plague pathogens that were present at the time of the Thirty Years' War could not be confirmed.