The Late Copper Age building BII-21B at Tell Yunatsite, south central Bulgaria

This paper considers the structure investigated at the largest area (labeled as BII-21B) in the Chalcolithic level BII of Tell Yunatsite, located in the western parts of the Upper Thracian Plain. It collapsed during a sudden fire, which did not affect the neighboring house to the west. The debris sealed a large number of fragmented vessels, plant remains, and even some of the inhabitants. Detailed analysis of the materials found allows for a reconstruction of diet and storage practices, research on vessels’ function and technology, decoration styles, etc. The plant remains are abundant and demonstrate a diverse species composition. The complex is dominated by lentils, barley, and einkorn wheat. Of particular interest is the evidence on purposeful gathering of grapes for producing a drink, perhaps wine. The investigation of the ceramic assemblage shows that it belongs to a developed – but not final – stage of the Late Copper Age in Upper Thrace. It also provides new information about the contact zone between the Karanovo VI and Krivodol cultures in this area

Cases of trisomy 21 and trisomy 18 among historic and prehistoric individuals discovered from ancient DNA

Aneuploidies, and in particular, trisomies represent the most common genetic aberrations observed in human genetics today. To explore the presence of trisomies in historic and prehistoric populations we screen nearly 10,000 ancient human individuals for the presence of three copies of any of the target autosomes. We find clear genetic evidence for six cases of trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) and one case of trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome), and all cases are present in infant or perinatal burials. We perform comparative osteological examinations of the skeletal remains and find overlapping skeletal markers, many of which are consistent with these syndromes. Interestingly, three cases of trisomy 21, and the case of trisomy 18 were detected in two contemporaneous sites in early Iron Age Spain (800-400 BCE), potentially suggesting a higher frequency of burials of trisomy carriers in those societies. Notably, the care with which the burials were conducted, and the items found with these individuals indicate that ancient societies likely acknowledged these individuals with trisomy 18 and 21 as members of their communities, from the perspective of burial practice

Ten millennia of hepatitis B virus evolution

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been infecting humans for millennia and remains a global health problem, but its past diversity and dispersal routes are largely unknown. We generated HBV genomic data from 137 Eurasians and Native Americans dated between ~10,500 and ~400 years ago. We date the most recent common ancestor of all HBV lineages to between ~20,000 and 12,000 years ago, with the virus present in European and South American hunter-gatherers during the early Holocene. After the European Neolithic transition, Mesolithic HBV strains were replaced by a lineage likely disseminated by early farmers that prevailed throughout western Eurasia for ~4000 years, declining around the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. The only remnant of this prehistoric HBV diversity is the rare genotype G, which appears to have reemerged during the HIV pandemic

Chapter 13. Investigations at the Chalcolithic settlement at Varhari

Presentation of the site The site is located in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains, 10 km south of the town of Kardzhali, at the confluence of the Varbitsa and Diva Reka (or Chitak Dere) Rivers (41° 33’ 20” N, 25° 23’ 04” E; fig. 1). The Varbitsa River has its source near the modern Bulgarian-Greek state border, and is among the most torrential rivers in Bulgaria. With its numerous tributaries it drains an area of almost 1000 km2. During the whole Sub-Atlantic period the Varbitsa River has belonge..

Chapter 8. Archaeological excavations at Tell Karnobat

Geographical setting Tell Karnobat is located in the Karnobat basin (42° 39’ 43” N, 26° 58’ 30” E), a part of the Balkan foothills situated between Stara Planina Mountain to the north and Sredna Gora Mountain to the south. The tell is in the northern foothills of the Hissar hill (which culminates at 403 m above sea level), in Sarnena Sredna Gora Mountain – the eastern part of Sredna Gora Mountain. The climate of the area is transitional continental: the average January temperatures are above ..

Открити селища и селищни могили – причини за различията в селищното и жилищното устройство: Flat sites and tells – reasons for the differences in their settlement and dwelling organization

The article compares the settlement organization and the building construction on flat sites consisting of no more than 2-3 levels and on multilayered settlements with deposits that are above 0,50 m in thickness. The possible differences in the occupational stages of a given site are discussed – from the clearing of the terrain for its foundation to the characteristics of the archaeological record. The differences between the two types of settlements are due to the different bases on which they are founded – the former over a natural terrain, the latter over the remains of older settlements. The area for the newly established settlements needs to be cleared from vegetation – usually perennial trees whose removal leaves deep pits. The area of the multilayered settlements needs to cleared from destruction debris, namely through surface flattening. The role of the terrain is particularly important for the construction of the buildings. If they are founded on a solid base, it is not likely that the weight of the building will cause any problems. This facilitates the construction of large massive buildings. The buildings of the multilayered settlements are lying over an amorphous ‘fill’ layer with low and uneven density. Such a layer is not suitable for heavy buildings since it sinks under their weight. This imposed the construction of lighter buildings. The flat sites could cover a large area with sparsely situated dwellings. The space between the buildings was most probably used for household and subsistence activities. Light buildings, hearths, ovens and pits with various functions can also be situated there. The tells have a limited area, hence their densely built space. Probably most of the household and subsistence activities were performed off-tell. The different location, organization and construction techniques of both types of settlement is reflected in the archaeological record

Chapter 12. The Late Chalcolithic site of Orlitsa

The geographical setting and the research The prehistoric site of Orlitsa is located in the Eastern Rhodope Mountain range (Kardzhali region, Kirkovo municipality), close to the southernmost point on the Bulgarian-Greek border at the Makaza Pass (41° 18’ 43” N, 25° 23’ 13” E) [fig. 1]. The site is situated on the northern slope of the Gyumurdzhinski Snezhnik mountain (its peak, Veykata, rises to 1482 m above sea level), which is part of the chain of mountains marking the southern border of th..

Chronological Modelling of the Chalcolithic Settlement Layers at Tell Yunatsite, Southern Bulgaria

This article publishes a new series of radiocarbon dates from Tell Yunatsite, Southern Bulgaria. Context-based excavations undertaken over a large surface area, as well as a small test trench, provided a long stratigraphic sequence (11 ‘building levels’) covering a large part of the Chalcolithic period in Thrace (5th millennium BCE). Bayesian statistics and Gaussian Monte Carlo Wiggle Matching were employed to achieve a fine chronology for the multilayered tell. Implications and problems on the application of the calibration curve for the Late and Final Chalcolithic in Bulgaria are also discussed

Chapter 9. Radiocarbon dates from Tell Yunatsite

The site and the research Tell Yunatsite (also known as “Ploskata Mogila”, which means “the Flat Mound” in Bulgarian) is situated in the Pazardzhik Field, i.e. the western part of the Thracian Plain, 8 km to the west of the modern town of Pazardzhik (42° 13’ 56” N, 24° 15’ 45” E). The Pazardzhik Field is a flat area slanting from west to east 300 to 100 m above sea level (fig. 1). It is enclosed by the Sredna Gora Mountain to the north and northwest, and the Rhodope Mountains to the south and..