Zoomorphic imagery and social process during the Early Bronze Age

Through the agency of animals, we think about our identity, landscape and society, and therefore animal imagery holds a special place in approaches to human thought. Through a study of the zoomorphic figurine assemblage recorded at the Early Bronze Age site of Koçumbeli-Ankara, we argue that the zoomorphic figurines of this time period were produced through a meaningful linking of particular images and raw materials to particular use contexts. For example, the ambiguously sexed zoomorphic figurines of clay are usually found within the settlement contexts, whereas the rest of the zoomorphic imagery, in the form of elaborately decorated and often male-sexed metal statues and standards, are found in ‘elite’ burials located in cemeteries. This occurs on the background of an emergent form of ritual control, which was negotiated through the separation of cemetery and settlement. In these contexts, the authority of the past was invoked via ancestral imagery through the careful employment of new raw materials, such as metals, that equally became agential in the separation of age, gender and class-based differences within society, at the eve of the centralization process in Anatolia

Archaeogenomic analysis of the first steps of Neolithization in Anatolia and the Aegean

The Neolithic transition in west Eurasia occurred in two main steps: the gradual development of sedentism and plant cultivation in the Near East and the subsequent spread of Neolithic cultures into the Aegean and across Europe after 7000 cal BCE. Here, we use published ancient genomes to investigate gene flow events in west Eurasia during the Neolithic transition. We confirm that the Early Neolithic central Anatolians in the ninth millennium BCE were probably descendants of local hunter-gatherers, rather than immigrants from the Levant or Iran. We further study the emergence of post-7000 cal BCE north Aegean Neolithic communities. Although Aegean farmers have frequently been assumed to be colonists originating from either central Anatolia or from the Levant, our findings raise alternative possibilities: north Aegean Neolithic populations may have been the product of multiple westward migrations, including south Anatolian emigrants, or they may have been descendants of local Aegean Mesolithic groups who adopted farming. These scenarios are consistent with the diversity of material cultures among Aegean Neolithic communities and the inheritance of local forager know-how. The demographic and cultural dynamics behind the earliest spread of Neolithic culture in the Aegean could therefore be distinct from the subsequent Neolithization of mainland Europe.WoSScopu

Human inbreeding has decreased in time through the Holocene

The history of human inbreeding is controversial. In particular, how the development of sedentary and/or agricultural societies may have influenced overall inbreeding levels is unclear. Here we present an approach for reliable estimation of runs of homozygosity (ROH) in genomes with ≥3x mean sequence coverage across >1 million SNPs, and apply this to 411 ancient Eurasian genomes from the last 15,000 years. We show that the frequency of inbreeding, as measured by ROH, has decreased over time. The strongest effect is associated with the Neolithic transition, but the trend has since continued, indicating a population size effect on inbreeding prevalence. We further show that most inbreeding in our historical sample can be attributed to small population size instead of consanguinity. We observed singular cases of high consanguinity only among members of farming societies

A genomic snapshot of demographic and cultural dynamism in Upper Mesopotamia during the Neolithic Transition

Upper Mesopotamia played a key role in the Neolithic Transition in Southwest Asia through marked innovations in symbolism, technology, and foodways. We present thirteen ancient genomes (c.8500-7500 calBCE) from Pre-Pottery Neolithic Çayönü in the Tigris basin together with bioarchaeological and material culture data. Our findings reveal that Çayönü was a genetically diverse population, carrying a mixed ancestry from western and eastern Fertile Crescent, and that the community received immigrants. Our results further suggest that the community was organised along biological family lines. We document bodily interventions such as head-shaping and cauterization among the individuals examined, reflecting Çayönü's cultural ingenuity. Finally, we identify Upper Mesopotamia as the likely source of eastern gene flow into Neolithic Anatolia, in line with material culture evidence. We hypothesise that Upper Mesopotamia's cultural dynamism during the Neolithic Transition was the product not only of its fertile lands but also of its interregional demographic connections

Archaeogenetic analysis of Neolithic sheep from Anatolia suggests a complex demographic history since domestication

Sheep were among the first domesticated animals, but their demographic history is little understood. Here we analyzed nuclear polymorphism and mitochondrial data (mtDNA) from ancient central and west Anatolian sheep dating from Epipaleolithic to late Neolithic, comparatively with modern-day breeds and central Asian Neolithic/Bronze Age sheep (OBI). Analyzing ancient nuclear data, we found that Anatolian Neolithic sheep (ANS) are genetically closest to present-day European breeds relative to Asian breeds, a conclusion supported by mtDNA haplogroup frequencies. In contrast, OBI showed higher genetic affinity to present-day Asian breeds. These results suggest that the east-west genetic structure observed in present-day breeds had already emerged by 6000 BCE, hinting at multiple sheep domestication episodes or early wild introgression in southwest Asia. Furthermore, we found that ANS are genetically distinct from all modern breeds. Our results suggest that European and Anatolian domestic sheep gene pools have been strongly remolded since the Neolithic

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in human mobility patterns in Holocene Southwest Asia and the East Mediterranean

We present a spatiotemporal picture of human genetic diversity in Anatolia, Iran, Levant, South Caucasus, and the Aegean, a broad region that experienced the earliest Neolithic transition and the emergence of complex hierarchical societies. Combining 35 new ancient shotgun genomes with 382 ancient and 23 present-day published genomes, we found that genetic diversity within each region steadily increased through the Holocene. We further observed that the inferred sources of gene flow shifted in time. In the first half of the Holocene, Southwest Asian and the East Mediterranean populations homogenized among themselves. Starting with the Bronze Age, however, regional populations diverged from each other, most likely driven by gene flow from external sources, which we term “the expanding mobility model.” Interestingly, this increase in inter-regional divergence can be captured by outgroup-f$_3$-based genetic distances, but not by the commonly used F$_{ST}$ statistic, due to the sensitivity of F$_{ST}$, but not outgroup-f$_3$, to within-population diversity. Finally, we report a temporal trend of increasing male bias in admixture events through the Holocene

Archaeogenetic analysis of Neolithic sheep from Anatolia suggests a complex demographic history since domestication

Yurtman, ozer, Yuncu et al. provide an ancient DNA data set to demonstrate the impact of human activity on the demographic history of domestic sheep. The authors demonstrate that there may have been multiple domestication events with notable changes to the gene pool of European and Anatolian sheep since the Neolithic. Sheep were among the first domesticated animals, but their demographic history is little understood. Here we analyzed nuclear polymorphism and mitochondrial data (mtDNA) from ancient central and west Anatolian sheep dating from Epipaleolithic to late Neolithic, comparatively with modern-day breeds and central Asian Neolithic/Bronze Age sheep (OBI). Analyzing ancient nuclear data, we found that Anatolian Neolithic sheep (ANS) are genetically closest to present-day European breeds relative to Asian breeds, a conclusion supported by mtDNA haplogroup frequencies. In contrast, OBI showed higher genetic affinity to present-day Asian breeds. These results suggest that the east-west genetic structure observed in present-day breeds had already emerged by 6000 BCE, hinting at multiple sheep domestication episodes or early wild introgression in southwest Asia. Furthermore, we found that ANS are genetically distinct from all modern breeds. Our results suggest that European and Anatolian domestic sheep gene pools have been strongly remolded since the Neolithic

Value of Heritage in Turkey: History and Politics of Turkey's World Heritage Nominations

Following Bulgaria's and Romania's accession into the European Union, EU expansion has reached its final frontier with the process of Turkey's prospective integration, through which both Europe's and Turkey's respective cultural identities have been under negotiation. From a European perspective, Turkey, with its culture, religion, and pseudo-democracy, may appear seriously to challenge some of the most fundamental values of Europeanness. In fact, the very same argument is being made by Turkish politicians and members of the Turkish public, who fear that the nation will lose its unique characteristics in the process of becoming European. Taking its cue from the premise that national identities are continuously re-configured within heritage discourses, this study attempts to portray how values of heritage have become entangled in Turkey's century-long search for an identity within the Western civilized world while continuing to protect its core cultural values. This struggle for self-definition is represented in the context of the history of Turkey's international relations with Europe, specifically following the 1980 coup d'etat and Turkey's first nominations to the World Heritage List in 1984. It is argued that the ambiguity of the EU's definition of 'Europeanness' has continued to highlight those elements in the heritage and identity discourses that would define 'Turkishness' in opposition