New dicoveries of cult monuments in Sisak

Prilikom zaštitnih arheoloških istraživanja koja su prethodila izgradnji dviju novih zgrada Povijesnoga arhiva u Sisku otkriveni su novi nalazi spomenika rimskoga religijskog života. Riječ je o mjedenoj bisti – aplici mlađega božanstva ovjenčanoga bršljanovim vijencem, zatim o manjoj skulpturi lava sa životinjskom glavom ispod šapa izrađenoj od pješčenjaka te o donjemu dijelu žrtvenika od vapnenca. Mjedena bista tipa blätterkelch atribuirana je mladomu bogu Dionizu i pripada skupini predmeta koji su služili kao ornamenti rimskim tronošcima. Figura lava dio je široke kultne simbolike orijentalnih religija često otkrivanih na nadgrobnim spomenicima. Novi su rimski nalazi iz Siska jedinstveni i upotpunjuju kultnu sliku religijskoga života u rimskome Sisku.During rescue excavations which preceded construction of the new building of the Historical Archives in the city of Sisak, new artefacts of Roman religious life were discovered. This included a brass bust/appliqué of a younger deity wearing an ivy wreath, a small sandstone sculpture of a lion with an animal’s head under its paw, and the lower part of a limestone altar. The brass blätterkelch-type bust has been attributed to the young god Dionysus and it belongs among a group of items which served as ornaments for Roman tripods. The lion figure was a component of broader cult symbolism in Oriental religions often discovered on grave monuments. These new Roman discoveries from Sisak are unique and they enhance general knowledge of religious life in Roman Sisak

Zbornik I. skupa hrvatske ranokršćanske arheologije (HRRANA)

Episkopalno središte, tri slavne nekropole Salone i Eufrazijeva bazilika u Poreču su najpoznatiji ranokršćanski lokaliteti u Hrvatskoj. Oni, međutim, nisu i jedini – uz njih su pronađeni brojni drugi, ne manje važni, ranokršćanski objekti, crkve, nekropole i pokretni nalazi. O njihovom značaju govori i činjenica da je više njih relevantno i u međunarodnom istraživanju određenih arheoloških tema. K tomu, nakon gotovo stoljeća i pol arheoloških iskopavanja, znanost uvijek iznova dolazi do novih otkrića. Takva poticajna situacija potaknula je znanstvenike sa Katedre za antičku provincijalnu i ranokršćansku arheologiju Odsjeka za arheologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu na organizaciju prvog nacionalnog ranokršćanskog arheološkog skupa. Slijedom toga je u Zagrebu od 15. do 17. ožujka 2018. održan prvi hrvatski skup ranokršćanske arheologije. Prvi cilj skupa, čiji akronim po početnim slovima naslova glasi HRRANA, je bio prezentiranje aktualnog stanja, i možebitno unaprjeđivanje, te važne znanstvene discipline. Objavom ovog zbornika radova nastoji se promovirati ne samo hrvatske ranokršćanske lokalitete, spomenike, arhitekturu, krajobraze, ikonografiju, epigrafiju i recentna arheološka istraživanja, nego i uputiti na različite istraživačke i metodološke probleme u istraživanju ranokršćanske arheologije u Hrvatskoj kroz rasprave, ispitivanja, znanstvena i praktična pitanja.Episkopalno središte, tri slavne nekropole Salone i Eufrazijeva bazilika u Poreču su najpoznatiji ranokršćanski lokaliteti u Hrvatskoj. Oni, međutim, nisu i jedini – uz njih su pronađeni brojni drugi, ne manje važni, ranokršćanski objekti, crkve, nekropole i pokretni nalazi. O njihovom značaju govori i činjenica da je više njih relevantno i u međunarodnom istraživanju određenih arheoloških tema. K tomu, nakon gotovo stoljeća i pol arheoloških iskopavanja, znanost uvijek iznova dolazi do novih otkrića. Takva poticajna situacija potaknula je znanstvenike sa Katedre za antičku provincijalnu i ranokršćansku arheologiju Odsjeka za arheologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu na organizaciju prvog nacionalnog ranokršćanskog arheološkog skupa. Slijedom toga je u Zagrebu od 15. do 17. ožujka 2018. održan prvi hrvatski skup ranokršćanske arheologije. Prvi cilj skupa, čiji akronim po početnim slovima naslova glasi HRRANA, je bio prezentiranje aktualnog stanja, i možebitno unaprjeđivanje, te važne znanstvene discipline. Objavom ovog zbornika radova nastoji se promovirati ne samo hrvatske ranokršćanske lokalitete, spomenike, arhitekturu, krajobraze, ikonografiju, epigrafiju i recentna arheološka istraživanja, nego i uputiti na različite istraživačke i metodološke probleme u istraživanju ranokršćanske arheologije u Hrvatskoj kroz rasprave, ispitivanja, znanstvena i praktična pitanja

Zbornik I. skupa hrvatske ranokršćanske arheologije (HRRANA)

Episkopalno središte, tri slavne nekropole Salone i Eufrazijeva bazilika u Poreču su najpoznatiji ranokršćanski lokaliteti u Hrvatskoj. Oni, međutim, nisu i jedini – uz njih su pronađeni brojni drugi, ne manje važni, ranokršćanski objekti, crkve, nekropole i pokretni nalazi. O njihovom značaju govori i činjenica da je više njih relevantno i u međunarodnom istraživanju određenih arheoloških tema. K tomu, nakon gotovo stoljeća i pol arheoloških iskopavanja, znanost uvijek iznova dolazi do novih otkrića. Takva poticajna situacija potaknula je znanstvenike sa Katedre za antičku provincijalnu i ranokršćansku arheologiju Odsjeka za arheologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu na organizaciju prvog nacionalnog ranokršćanskog arheološkog skupa. Slijedom toga je u Zagrebu od 15. do 17. ožujka 2018. održan prvi hrvatski skup ranokršćanske arheologije. Prvi cilj skupa, čiji akronim po početnim slovima naslova glasi HRRANA, je bio prezentiranje aktualnog stanja, i možebitno unaprjeđivanje, te važne znanstvene discipline. Objavom ovog zbornika radova nastoji se promovirati ne samo hrvatske ranokršćanske lokalitete, spomenike, arhitekturu, krajobraze, ikonografiju, epigrafiju i recentna arheološka istraživanja, nego i uputiti na različite istraživačke i metodološke probleme u istraživanju ranokršćanske arheologije u Hrvatskoj kroz rasprave, ispitivanja, znanstvena i praktična pitanja.Episkopalno središte, tri slavne nekropole Salone i Eufrazijeva bazilika u Poreču su najpoznatiji ranokršćanski lokaliteti u Hrvatskoj. Oni, međutim, nisu i jedini – uz njih su pronađeni brojni drugi, ne manje važni, ranokršćanski objekti, crkve, nekropole i pokretni nalazi. O njihovom značaju govori i činjenica da je više njih relevantno i u međunarodnom istraživanju određenih arheoloških tema. K tomu, nakon gotovo stoljeća i pol arheoloških iskopavanja, znanost uvijek iznova dolazi do novih otkrića. Takva poticajna situacija potaknula je znanstvenike sa Katedre za antičku provincijalnu i ranokršćansku arheologiju Odsjeka za arheologiju Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu na organizaciju prvog nacionalnog ranokršćanskog arheološkog skupa. Slijedom toga je u Zagrebu od 15. do 17. ožujka 2018. održan prvi hrvatski skup ranokršćanske arheologije. Prvi cilj skupa, čiji akronim po početnim slovima naslova glasi HRRANA, je bio prezentiranje aktualnog stanja, i možebitno unaprjeđivanje, te važne znanstvene discipline. Objavom ovog zbornika radova nastoji se promovirati ne samo hrvatske ranokršćanske lokalitete, spomenike, arhitekturu, krajobraze, ikonografiju, epigrafiju i recentna arheološka istraživanja, nego i uputiti na različite istraživačke i metodološke probleme u istraživanju ranokršćanske arheologije u Hrvatskoj kroz rasprave, ispitivanja, znanstvena i praktična pitanja

Stable population structure in Europe since the Iron Age, despite high mobility

Ancient DNA research in the past decade has revealed that European population structure changed dramatically in the prehistoric period (14,000–3000 years before present, YBP), reflecting the widespread introduction of Neolithic farmer and Bronze Age Steppe ancestries. However, little is known about how population structure changed from the historical period onward (3000 YBP - present). To address this, we collected whole genomes from 204 individuals from Europe and the Mediterranean, many of which are the first historical period genomes from their region (e.g. Armenia and France). We found that most regions show remarkable inter-individual heterogeneity. At least 7% of historical individuals carry ancestry uncommon in the region where they were sampled, some indicating cross-Mediterranean contacts. Despite this high level of mobility, overall population structure across western Eurasia is relatively stable through the historical period up to the present, mirroring geography. We show that, under standard population genetics models with local panmixia, the observed level of dispersal would lead to a collapse of population structure. Persistent population structure thus suggests a lower effective migration rate than indicated by the observed dispersal. We hypothesize that this phenomenon can be explained by extensive transient dispersal arising from drastically improved transportation networks and the Roman Empire’s mobilization of people for trade, labor, and military. This work highlights the utility of ancient DNA in elucidating finer scale human population dynamics in recent history

Cranial deformation and genetic diversity in three adolescent male individuals from the Great Migration Period from Osijek, eastern Croatia.

Three individuals dating to the Great Migration Period (5th century CE) were discovered in a pit at the Hermanov vinograd site in Osijek, Croatia. We were inspired to study these individuals based on their unusual burial context as well as the identification of two different types of artificial cranial deformation in two of the individuals. We combine bioarchaeological analysis with radiographic imaging, stable isotopes analysis, and ancient DNA to analyze their dietary patterns, molecular sex, and genetic affinities in the context of the archaeological data and their bioarchaeological attributes. While all three individuals were adolescent males with skeletal evidence of severe malnutrition and similar diets, the most striking observation is that they had major differences in their genetic ancestry. Results of the genetic analyses of the nuclear ancient DNA data for these individuals indicate that the individual without artificial cranial deformation shows broadly West Eurasian associated-ancestry, the individual with tabular oblique-type has East Asian ancestry and the third individual with circular erect-type has Near Eastern associated-ancestry. Based on these results, we speculate that artificial cranial deformation type may have been a visual indicator membership in a specific cultural group, and that these groups were interacting intimately on the Pannonian Plain during the Migration Period

Stable population structure in Europe since the Iron Age, despite high mobility

International audienceAncient DNA research in the past decade has revealed that European populationstructure changed dramatically in the prehistoric period (14,000–3000 years before present, YBP),reflecting the widespread introduction of Neolithic farmer and Bronze Age Steppe ancestries.However, little is known about how population structure changed from the historical period onward(3000 YBP - present). To address this, we collected whole genomes from 204 individuals fromEurope and the Mediterranean, many of which are the first historical period genomes from theirregion (e.g. Armenia and France). We found that most regions show remarkable inter-individualheterogeneity. At least 7% of historical individuals carry ancestry uncommon in the region wherethey were sampled, some indicating cross-Mediterranean contacts. Despite this high level ofmobility, overall population structure across western Eurasia is relatively stable through the historicalperiod up to the present, mirroring geography. We show that, under standard population geneticsmodels with local panmixia, the observed level of dispersal would lead to a collapse of populationstructure. Persistent population structure thus suggests a lower effective migration rate than indi-cated by the observed dispersal. We hypothesize that this phenomenon can be explained by exten-sive transient dispersal arising from drastically improved transportation networks and the RomanEmpire’s mobilization of people for trade, labor, and military. This work highlights the utility ofancient DNA in elucidating finer scale human population dynamics in recent history

The genomic history of southeastern Europe

Farming was first introduced to Europe in the mid-seventh millennium bc, and was associated with migrants from Anatolia who settled in the southeast before spreading throughout Europe. Here, to understand the dynamics of this process, we analysed genome-wide ancient DNA data from 225 individuals who lived in southeastern Europe and surrounding regions between 12000 and 500 bc. We document a west-east cline of ancestry in indigenous hunter-gatherers and, in eastern Europe, the early stages in the formation of Bronze Age steppe ancestry. We show that the first farmers of northern and western Europe dispersed through southeastern Europe with limited hunter-gatherer admixture, but that some early groups in the southeast mixed extensively with hunter-gatherers without the sex-biased admixture that prevailed later in the north and west. We also show that southeastern Europe continued to be a nexus between east and west after the arrival of farmers, with intermittent genetic contact with steppe populations occurring up to 2,000 years earlier than the migrations from the steppe that ultimately replaced much of the population of northern Europe.Iain Mathieson … Wolfgang Haak … David Reic

Large-scale migration into Britain during the Middle to Late Bronze Age

Present-day people from England and Wales harbour more ancestry derived from Early European Farmers (EEF) than people of the Early Bronze Age . To understand this, we generated genome-wide data from 793 individuals, increasing data from the Middle to Late Bronze and Iron Age in Britain by 12-fold, and Western and Central Europe by 3.5-fold. Between 1000 and 875 BC, EEF ancestry increased in southern Britain (England and Wales) but not northern Britain (Scotland) due to incorporation of migrants who arrived at this time and over previous centuries, and who were genetically most similar to ancient individuals from France. These migrants contributed about half the ancestry of Iron Age people of England and Wales, thereby creating a plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain. These patterns are part of a broader trend of EEF ancestry becoming more similar across central and western Europe in the Middle to Late Bronze Age, coincident with archaeological evidence of intensified cultural exchange . There was comparatively less gene flow from continental Europe during the Iron Age, and Britain's independent genetic trajectory is also reflected in the rise of the allele conferring lactase persistence to ~50% by this time compared to ~7% in central Europe where it rose rapidly in frequency only a millennium later. This suggests that dairy products were used in qualitatively different ways in Britain and in central Europe over this period. [Abstract copyright: © 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.