The controversial forensic scientist José Antonio Lorente, who has spent more than two decades analyzing the DNA of the alleged bones of Christopher Columbus and his relatives without publishing any conclusive data, has indefinitely postponed the presentation of his findings. The announcement came via a statement from Lorente himself, shared with EL PAÍS on Monday by his institution, the University of Granada.
A documentary titled Columbus DNA. His True Origin, which aired on Spain’s public broadcaster on October 12 and featured Lorente, argued that the most likely hypothesis about Columbus’ origins was that the explorer was not a Genoese Christian but a Jew born in modern-day Spain, from a family of Valencian silk weavers. This claim faced heavy criticism from the scientific community due to the total lack of evidence. Lorente responded to the backlash by promising to reveal “the complete and detailed scientific results” at a November press conference.
Now, the narrative has shifted. “The international scientific team led by Professor José Antonio Lorente has made the decision to publish absolutely all the DNA data obtained in this research,” reads the statement, dated November 20. “The original idea was to publish only the most relevant data, but the scientific team is convinced that publishing all the information is the best alternative so that all the data can be accessible to anyone, which will facilitate future studies and comparisons.” It adds: “The large amount of data that is being included in the publication makes the scientific work to be published especially dense and complex, so we are working intensively to be able to meet the necessary requirements and publish it as soon as possible.”