Forensic investigators from the University of Granada, led by professor of forensic medicine José Antonio Lorente, definitively confirmed on Thursday that the bones of Christopher Columbus buried in Seville Cathedral They come from the discoverer of America.
This is what Lorente announced during the presentation of the feature-length documentary ‘The DNA of Columbus. Its true originfrom Story Producciones, which will be broadcast by RTVE on October 12, Hispanic Heritage Day; a sort of historical “thriller”, which will resolve certain unknowns after more than twenty years of research.
Until its release, what scientists’ research suggests about the other enigma surrounding this historical figure will not be revealed: his origin, where he was bornsomething that will “shed light on history and also rewrite it,” according to the interim president of the Corporation, Concepción Cascajosa.
During the event that took place at the Royal National Academy of Medicine, where it was discussed for its president, Eduardo Díaz-Rubio, “a historic day” for scienceLorente explained that in the first studies from 2003, 2004 and 2005, there was talk of a “possible compatibility” that these bones came from Columbus, although it was a low probability because there was not enough DNA .
Reliability is “practically absolute”
“Today it has been possible to verify it thanks to new technologies, so it remains this theory is definitively established partial confirmation that the remains of Seville are those of Christopher Columbus”, he noted. Lorente assured that the data is “exact”, therefore the reliability from the point of view of genetic data is “practically absolute” and has been replicated by different laboratories.
Furthermore, he argued that the investigation would be published in an international scientific journal, This is what scientists do when they have a result they want to share. The investigation led by Lorente attempts to shed light on the origin of the navigator, around which several theories circulate, although the most widespread and internationally accepted is that he was from Genoa (Italy).
But until today there are many theories that he could be Portuguese, from Catalonia, Galicia, Guadalajara, Ibiza, Mallorca, that he could also be Norwegian and even American. Now this work, which included DNA analysis of the skeletal remains available from Christopher Columbus, his son Hernando and his brother Diego, will scientifically determine What was its origin?
He also attended the event one of the browser’s descendantsthe Duke of Veragua, the twentieth Christopher Columbus, who nevertheless warned that the skeleton of Seville is incomplete, and that people also cling to it in the Dominican Republic to say that there are also bones of the discoverer. “Could it be that part of the bones are in the Dominican Republic and part in Seville?” asked Dr. Lorente, who replied that according to the bones there were, yes, because “They are not all in Seville, nor in the Dominican Republic.”
However, he also pointed out that the remains in this Caribbean country “have not been the subject of study” because, although at the beginning of the investigation they went there, their authorities told them that there was no doubt about their belonging to Colón.
