Infant and child mortality data obtained from archaeological excavations is an important source of information in determining the demographic and socio-economic structure and understanding the biocultural practices of societies. The most important anthropological study on skeletons obtained from palaeoanthropological and archaeological excavations is the determination of age and sex.
Determining the sex of infant and child skeletons is important for the clarity of anthropological studies. Approximate age at death is determined by ageing methods in infants and children. The sex of adult skeletons can be determined by macroscopic and morphometric methods, but the sex of infants and children cannot be determined. In this project, DNA and sex analyses will be performed on infants and children, which constitute 90 of the 155 skeletons of individuals recovered between 2013 and 2015 from the Van Kalesi Höyük Middle Ages to Recent Period excavations. Studies before DNA isolation and DNA isolation and PCR procedures will be carried out, so that the gender, which cannot be determined by macroscopic and morphometric methods, can be determined.
The grave types of infants and children whose sex has been determined and pathological findings, which are among the factors underlying infant and child mortality, will be examined. Thus, it will be determined whether gender had an effect on burial traditions.