Genetic discontinuity between local hunter-gatherers and Europes first farmers

Following the domestication of animals and crops in the Near East some 11,000 years ago, farming reached much of Central Europe by 7,500 before present. The extent to which these early European farmers ere immigrants, or descendants of resident hunter-gatherers who had learnt farming, has been widely debated. We compare new mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from late European hunter-gatherer skeletons with those from early farmers, and from modern Europeans. We find large genetic differences betwee all three groups that cannot be explained by population continuity alone. Most (82 %) of the ancient hunter-gatherers share mtDNA types that are relatively rare in Central Europeans today. Together, thse analyses provide persuasive evidence that the first farmers were not the descendants of local hunergatherers but immigrated into Central Europe at the onset of the Neolithic

Investigating dietary life histories and mobility of children buried in St Gertrude Church Cemetery, Riga, Latvia (15th– 17th centuries AD)

Carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles were obtained from incremental dentine analysis of 19 non‐adults from a cemetery in Riga, Latvia. The research compared the life histories and diet between people buried in two mass graves and the general cemetery. The δ13C profiles of several children from the mass graves were similar but did not resemble the patterns seen in children from the general cemetery, suggesting that they probably represented a different population group. The rise in δ15N values towards the end of the life of four individuals from one mass grave suggests they were victims of an historically documented famine

Cooking fish and drinking milk? Patterns in pottery use in the southeastern Baltic, 3300–2400 cal BC

yesA study of pottery vessel contents and use was undertaken in order to obtain information on food processed in Subneolithic and Neolithic vessels from Nida and Šventoji (3300–2400 cal BC). The aim is to assess pottery use during major changes in the coastal environment and in material culture. Bulk carbon and nitrogen isotope, lipid biomarker and compound specific carbon isotope analysis was undertaken on ‘foodcrusts’, charred deposits adhering to vessel surfaces, and absorbed residues from different vessel types. In addition, three archaeological seal bones were analysed for bulk collagen and compound specific carbon isotope analysis to establish collagen-lipid offsets to inform interpretation of the data. The results show that the majority of the vessels were used for processing aquatic products. At Nida the data suggest exploitation of freshwater resources and, in the later stages of occupation, dairying. Analysis of a small number of Subneolithic vessels from Šventoji produced results that are also consistent with processing of aquatic products. Other substances identified include Pinaceae sp. resin or tar and beeswax. These data demonstrate that identifying patterns in pottery use contributes to understanding Neolithisation processes

The transition from foraging to farming (7000–500 cal BC) in the SE Baltic : A re-evaluation of chronological and palaeodietary evidence from human remains

Our knowledge of the timing and completeness of the transition from foraging, fishing and hunting to food production in boreal northeastern Europe is far from clear. Here, we present new bone collagen AMS 14C dates, and δ13C and δ15N isotope values for 20 humans and 17 animals from a 6500-year period dating from the Late Mesolithic to the Bronze Age in Lithuania. AMS 14C dates revealed large discrepancies in comparison to previously obtained radiocarbon dates, thus highlighting the need to re-date all prehistoric human remains where chronology was based on 14C dating of bone collagen. Stable isotope data indicate that inland Mesolithic-Subneolithic hunter-gatherers (7000–3000 cal BC) relied on a balance of freshwater food and game animals with regard to protein intake. The coastal Subneolithic groups (ca. 3000 cal BC) relied heavily on lagoon fishing, while seals and forest game were of lesser importance. Animal husbandry, most likely of sheep or goats, was a main source of protein for Neolithic Corded Ware Culture people (2900–2400 cal BC), although a significant contribution of freshwater food is also evident. Significant intra-individual variation in stable isotope values may demonstrate that a highly flexible subsistence strategy was adopted by the CWC people. Unusually high δ13C values indicate that millet had been already introduced into the farming economy of the Late Bronze Age around 1000 cal BC

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values in freshwater, brackish and marine fish bone collagen from Mesolithic and Neolithic sites in central and northern Europe

The aim of this research is to examine the isotopic characterisation of archaeological fish species as it relates to freshwater, brackish and marine environments, trophic level and migration patterns, and to determine intraspecies variation within and between fish populations in different locations within central and northern Europe. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was undertaken on collagen extracted from 72 fish bone samples from eight Mesolithic and Neolithic archaeological sites in this region. Thirty-six (50%) of the specimens analysed produced results with acceptable carbon to nitrogen atomic ratios (2·9–3·6). The fish remains encompassed a wide spectrum of freshwater, brackish and marine taxa (n = 12), which were reflected in the δ13C values (−24·5 to −7·8‰). The freshwater/brackish fish (pike, Esox lucius; perch, Perca fluviatilis; zander, Sander lucioperca) had δ13C values that ranged from −24·2 to −19·3‰, whereas the brackish/marine fish (spurdog, Squalus acanthias; flatfish, Pleuronectidae; codfish, Gadidae; garfish, Belone belone; mackerel, Scomber scombrus) ranged from −14·9 to −9·4‰. Salmonidae, an anadromous taxon, and eel (Anguilla anguilla), a catadromous species, had carbon isotope values consistent with marine origin, and no evidence of freshwater residency (−12·7 to −11·7‰). The δ15N values had a range of 6·2‰ (6·5–12·7‰) indicating that these fish were on average feeding at 1·7 trophic levels higher than their producers in these diverse aquatic environments. These results serve as an important ecological baseline for the future isotopic reconstruction of the diet of human populations dating to the late Mesolithic and early Neolithic of the region

Didžiosios deivės sąvoka: mitas ar realybė?

Į XX a. ir XXI a. pradžią galima žiūrėti kaip j dvasinio atgimimo laikotarpį. Gerai žinomi krikščionių, musulmonų ir žydų fundamentalistų judėjimai. Mažiau žinomas yra atgimimas populiarios kultūrinės sąvokos - archainės ir dabartinės - kuri įvardijama kaip Deivės kultas, arba Deivės judėjimas. Šiame straipsnyje aptariama, kaip daugelis yra „atsiminę ir atgavę" spėjamą labai senos civilizacijos dvasią, kuri pabrėžė moters reikšmingumą, teigė pagarbą moteriai. Apibrėžiama, kaip Didžiosios deivės sąvoka yra šiandien pateikiama ir nustatoma, kaip ši sąvoka atsirado istorijos raidoje. Atkreipiamas dėmesys j būdingas sąvokai problemas ir aprašoma, kas, beieškant Didžiosios deivės pėdsakų, yra, ir kas nėra nustatyta remiantis istorijos ir antropologijos duomenimis. [...

The Great goddess concept: myth or reality?

Į XX a. ir XXI a. pradžią galimą žiūrėti kaip į dvasinio atgimimo laikotarpį. Gerai žinomi krikščionių, musulmonų ir žydų fundamentalistų judėjimai. Mažiau žinomas yra atgimimas populiarios kultūrinės sąvokos – archajinės ir dabartinės - kuri įvardijama kaip Deivės kultas, arba Deivės judėjimas. Šiame straipsnyje aptariama, kaip daugelis yra "atsiminę ir atgavę" spėjamą labai senos civilizacijos dvasią, kuri pabrėžė moters reikšmingumą, teigė pagarbą moteriai. Apibrėžiama, kaip Didžiosios deivės sąvoka yra šiandien pateikiama ir nustatoma, kaip ši sąvoka atsirado istorijos raidoje. Atkreipiamas dėmesys į būdingas sąvokai problemas ir aprašoma, kas, beieškant Didžiosios deivės pėdsakų, yra, ir kas nėra nustatyta remiantis istorijos ir antropologijos duomenimis. Didžiosios deivės sąvoka iš esmės susiformavo per pastaruosius pora amžių. M. Gimbutienė atkūrė ir išplėtė idėjas, kurios jau gyvavo XIX a. Savo veikale „Das Mutterrecht“ J. Bachofenas (1861) rašė, kad vienos vienintelės Didžiosios deivės ir priešistorinio matriarchato teologija buvo įsitvirtinusi žymiai anksčiau negu atsirado rašytinė istorija, kurią turbūt reikėtų sutapatinti su gamybinio ūkio susiformavimu.Naujesni teoriniai metodai, tokie kaip kognityvi archeologija ir lyčių archeologija, atnaujino susidomėjimą simbolių ir ideologijos interpretacijomis archeologijoje. Todėl vėl atgimė susidomėjimas Didžiąja deive. Tačiau dauguma mokslininkų sutinka, jog archeologinės interpretacijos yra tik darbinės hipotezės, ir neturėtų būti pristatomos kaip nenuginčijami faktai.The XX century and the beginning of the XXI century may be considered as period of spiritual regeneration. Well know fundamental movements of Christians, Muslim and Jews. Less known is regeneration of definitions of popular culture - archaic and nowadays which is named as cult of goddess or movement of goddess. This article analyses how a lot of people "recollected and regenerated" suppositional spirit of ancient civilization, which emphasized significance of woman in line with worship. It is defined how the definition of Great Goddess is introduced today and how this definition occurred in history progress. Problems characteristic to this definition are highlighted in line with description what is defined and what is not defined in searching first steps of Great Goddess following data of history and anthropology. Definition of Great Goddess is basically generated during the last few centuries. M. Gimbutiene has restored and expanded ideas, which already existed in XIX century. Jacob Bachofen (1861) in his work "Das Mutterrecht" wrote that theology of sole Great Goddess and prehistoric matriarchate has been fixated much earlier than origin of written history, which obviously must be the same as formation of industrial farm. Newer theoretical methods, such as cognitive archaeology and gender archaeology regenerated interest in interpretation of symbol and ideology in archaeology. Therefore interest in Great Goddess has been restored again. However a lot of scientists agree that archaeological interpretations are only current hypothesis and should not be interpreted as indisputable facts

Cheminė kaulų analizė: duomenys apie Lietuvos neolito ir bronzos amžiaus gyventojų mitybą pagal stabiliuosius izotopus

The determination of what people ate in prehistory is an important resea rch question that has received more attention among lithuanian sc ientists in recent years. Traditional approaches to this research problem have most notably involved Ihe identification of animal bones found on archaeological sites along with tools related to the acquisition or processing of food, palynological research, and more recently, systematized macrobotanical and ichthyological data collection and analyses. While these data are significant in the determination of ancient diet, differential preservation of material remains can bias accurate interpretations. Plants, for example, are notoriously poorly preserved, while an imal bone finds may be overrepresen ted and may only reflect seasonal hunting refuse. The chemical composition of an individual's bones contains information about what the individual ate. Chemical signatures such as stable isotope ratios of bone collagen provide valuable information about diet; the method has been used for reconstruction of human diet since the late 1970s (Vogel and van der Merwe 1977, van der Merwe and Vogel 1978, Deniro and Epstein 1978). This paper presents the very first results of both carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses on the bones of a few select Lithuanian Neolithic and Bronze Age individuals. After an overview of the principles and methods of stable isotope analysis, the results of isotopic research performed on the Lithuanian samples are given. A comparison is made to interpretations from the results of other sta ble isotope research resu lts of samples from similar time periods in the West Baltic and especially East Baltic region