Long-hidden family scandal in Jamestown colony revealed 400 years later by ancient DNA

An investigation of human remains from a 17th-century British settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, has revealed a scandal in the family of the colony’s first governor. DNA analysis of two skeletons from unmarked graves in a Jamestown church showed that they were related to the governor and linked through shared maternal lineage. This led researchers to discover that one of the men, Captain William West, was illegitimate and born to the governor’s spinster aunt. The scandalous birth was hidden from the family’s records. The findings highlight how genetic data combined with historical evidence can uncover untold narratives and shed light on societal rules in the past.