The unique settlement microregion of the Lusatian Urnfield culture in Łazy (SW Poland): fieldwalking and geophysical survey results

Cremated cemetery and three settlement sites were surveyed. Magnetics and electrical resistivity provided a suggestive location for the cemetery. Magnetic prospection of the surrounding settlements provided a less clear picture. Surface material indicated the presence of previously unregistered episodes of settlement

Application of the lateral angle method for sex determination of cremated individuals from burials of the Lusatian culture cemetery in Czernikowice, Poland

Research of cremated human remains are limited by severe analytical constraints. Estimation of basic anthropological parameters such as sex of individuals or their age at death is often uncertain. A method for assessing the sex of cremated individuals measures the lateral angle of the petrous part (PP) of the temporal bone, known as the lateral angle (LA) method.In the cemetery of the Lusatian culture in Czernikowice (51.317389°N, 15.871469°E), 6 well-preserved PP were identified. The analyzed PP belonged to 6 different individuals: 3 adults and 3 children. Based on standard anthropological methods, sex was estimated for adults individuals: 2 males and 1 female. The identified PP served as the basis for application of the LA method. The bones were scanned by computed tomography (CT) and the tomographic imaging allowed measurement of the lateral angle.The absolute values of intra-observer errors did not exceed 1°. Relative technical errors of measurements (rTEM) fell in the range below 5%, which is indicative of their high precision. Individuals for which the LA value was greater than or equal to 45.0° were qualified as females and those for which it was less than 45.0° – as males. The LA values for female individuals ranged from 48.0 to 49.1°, (average 48.5±0.78°, median 48.4°) and for male individuals were in the range of 24.9-37.5° (average 33.4±5.80°, median 35.5°). The absolute difference between the average values for female and male individuals was considerable (15.1°) and statistically significant (p < 0.001).The LA method provides good reliability of measurements when it comes to this analysis with regard to cremated osteological material, and the use of non-invasive CT enhances its value in the context of archaeological remains. However, its capability for sexing subadult individuals should be approached with caution and requires further research

An integrative skeletal and paleogenomic analysis of stature variation suggests relatively reduced health for early european farmers

Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ∼12,000 y B.P. This shift is hypothesized to have resulted in increased individual fitness and population growth as evidenced by archaeological and population genomic data alongside a decline in physiological health as inferred from skeletal remains. Here, we consider osteological and ancient DNA data from the same prehistoric individuals to study human stature variation as a proxy for health across a transition to agriculture. Specifically, we compared “predicted” genetic contributions to height from paleogenomic data and “achieved” adult osteological height estimated from long bone measurements for 167 individuals across Europe spanning the Upper Paleolithic to Iron Age (∼38,000 to 2,400 B.P.). We found that individuals from the Neolithic were shorter than expected (given their individual polygenic height scores) by an average of −3.82 cm relative to individuals from the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic (P = 0.040) and −2.21 cm shorter relative to post-Neolithic individuals (P = 0.068), with osteological vs. expected stature steadily increasing across the Copper (+1.95 cm relative to the Neolithic), Bronze (+2.70 cm), and Iron (+3.27 cm) Ages. These results were attenuated when we additionally accounted for genome-wide genetic ancestry variation: for example, with Neolithic individuals −2.82 cm shorter than expected on average relative to pre-Neolithic individuals (P = 0.120). We also incorporated observations of paleopathological indicators of nonspecific stress that can persist from childhood to adulthood in skeletal remains into our model. Overall, our work highlights the potential of integrating disparate datasets to explore proxies of health in prehistory.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe

From around 2750 to 2500 bc, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 bc. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. Here we present genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with Beaker-complex artefacts. We detected limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and thus exclude migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, migration had a key role in the further dissemination of the Beaker complex. We document this phenomenon most clearly in Britain, where the spread of the Beaker complex introduced high levels of steppe-related ancestry and was associated with the replacement of approximately 90% of Britain’s gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the east-to-west expansion that had brought steppe-related ancestry into central and northern Europe over the previous centuries

Stone Age Yersinia pestis genomes shed light on the early evolution, diversity, and ecology of plague

[Significance] The bacterium Yersinia pestis has caused numerous historically documented outbreaks of plague and research using ancient DNA could demonstrate that it already affected human populations during the Neolithic. However, the pathogen’s genetic diversity, geographic spread, and transmission dynamics during this early period of Y. pestis evolution are largely unexplored. Here, we describe a set of ancient plague genomes up to 5,000 y old from across Eurasia. Our data demonstrate that two genetically distinct forms of Y. pestis evolved in parallel and were both distributed across vast geographic distances, potentially occupying different ecological niches. Interpreted within the archeological context, our results suggest that the spread of plague during this period was linked to increased human mobility and intensification of animal husbandry.The bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis gave rise to devastating outbreaks throughout human history, and ancient DNA evidence has shown it afflicted human populations as far back as the Neolithic. Y. pestis genomes recovered from the Eurasian Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age (LNBA) period have uncovered key evolutionary steps that led to its emergence from a Yersinia pseudotuberculosis-like progenitor; however, the number of reconstructed LNBA genomes are too few to explore its diversity during this critical period of development. Here, we present 17 Y. pestis genomes dating to 5,000 to 2,500 y BP from a wide geographic expanse across Eurasia. This increased dataset enabled us to explore correlations between temporal, geographical, and genetic distance. Our results suggest a nonflea-adapted and potentially extinct single lineage that persisted over millennia without significant parallel diversification, accompanied by rapid dispersal across continents throughout this period, a trend not observed in other pathogens for which ancient genomes are available. A stepwise pattern of gene loss provides further clues on its early evolution and potential adaptation. We also discover the presence of the flea-adapted form of Y. pestis in Bronze Age Iberia, previously only identified in in the Caucasus and the Volga regions, suggesting a much wider geographic spread of this form of Y. pestis. Together, these data reveal the dynamic nature of plague’s formative years in terms of its early evolution and ecology.This study was funded by the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean and the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement 771234 – PALEoRIDER (to W.H.), 856453 – HistoGenes (to J.K.), and 834616 – ARCHCAUCASUS (to S.H.). The Heidelberg Academy of Science financed the genetic and archeological research on human individuals from the Augsburg region within the project WIN Kolleg: “Times of Upheaval: Changes of Society and Landscape at the Beginning of the Bronze Age. M.E. was supported by the award “Praemium Academiae” of the Czech Academy of Sciences. M.D. was supported by the project RVO 67985912 of the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague. I.O. was supported by the Ramón y Cajal grant from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spanish Government (RYC2019-027909-I). A. H€ubner was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under Germany’s Excellence Strategy (EXC 2051 – Project-ID 390713860). J.F.-E. and J.A.M.-A. were supported by the Diputación Foral de Alava, IT 1223-19, Gobierno Vasco. A. Buzhilova was supported by the Center of Information Technologies and Systems (CITIS), Moscow, Russia 121041500329-0. L. M., L.B.D., and E. Khussainova were supported by the Grant AP08856654, Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A. Beisenov was supported by the Grant AP08857177, Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.Peer reviewe

Three dimensions in a tropical forest. The colonial plantation La Caroline in French Guiana

International audienceSuccessful fieldwork in a tropical forest requires both a comprehensive preparatory scenario as well as a framework of everyday methods. Dense vegetation impedes navigating the terrain and interpreting the relations between the anthropogenic and natural landscapes. Additionally, the forest hampers using accurate measurement systems, such as GNSS and Total Station systems or UAV platforms. It hinders the logistics, effectively limiting the amount of equipment that can be used. L'habitation La Caroline Parts of the colonial plantation La Caroline were excavated in 2016. Located 30 km from Cayenne near the river Mahury, it was active since the end of the 18 th century until the 1870's. Cloves and rokou were its main crops. It had a regular, somewhat iterative layout. The remains of some buildings, e.g. the maisons de maître, a free-standing kitchen and slave or labourer quarters are still discernible. A monumental stairway leading down to a now defunct canal and road system is also preserved. Today, the whole area is covered with a tropical forest and the building remains are hidden in thick undergrowth. Large scale overview Airborne Laser Scanning was conducted during the preparatory stage. This allowed to create accurate land relief and use models. The measurements were made using a RIEGL LMS-Q560. Point clouds of high density were obtained, but the thick vegetation caused the area to be irregularly covered many measurements classified as the terrain. This necessitated conducting a series of experiments aiming to find the optimal classification parameters. Eventually, an area of 17,5 km 2 measured. It encompassed several adjacent plantations and revealed the spatial layout of buildings, elevated fields, roads and other infrastructure. Feature recording Photogrammetry was utilised during the fieldwork and supplemented the traditional recording. This allowed to save time spent on documentation and provided high resolution data. Structure from motion techniques were especially useful in recording highly detailed and complex contexts such as the architectural remains. DEMs, orthophotographs and 3D models were the final result of field image-based modelling. Combined with comparative studies of similar structures, they allowed us to model, reconstruct and visualise the buildings in 2D and 3D. Summary Although the array of measurement methods that could have been reliably used in the dense rainforest vegetation was quite limited, they have nonetheless proven to be highly effective and yielded satisfying and valuable results. ALS was used both for prospection and recording. It provided unique data sets imaging the otherwise inaccessible terrain. Feature photogrammetry allowed to record the features found during excavations quickly and in a high resolution, with minimal time and equipment requirements. The data became a base for models, which allowed us to notice new details during post-excavation analyses of architecture. The spatial data helped to image structures on many different scales: from the landscape, through relations of buildings, down to excavation features. Importantly enough, all data was unified in a common mapping system, easily usable in CAD or GIS environments. Finally, the digital data provide a base for multiple scale 3D visualisations, successively uploaded online as interactive models. As such, they promulgate not only our results and the methods we used, but historical archaeology in French Guiana as well

Using Y-chromosome capture enrichment to resolve haplogroup H2 shows new evidence for a two-path Neolithic expansion to Western Europe

International audienceUniparentally-inherited markers on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the non-recombining regions of the Y chromosome (NRY), have been used for the past 30 years to investigate the history of humans from a maternal and paternal perspective. Researchers have preferred mtDNA due to its abundance in the cells, and comparatively high substitution rate. Conversely, the NRY is less susceptible to back mutations and saturation, and is potentially more informative than mtDNA owing to its longer sequence length. However, due to comparatively poor NRY coverage via shotgun sequencing, and the relatively low and biased representation of Y-chromosome variants on capture assays such as the 1240 k, ancient DNA studies often fail to utilize the unique perspective that the NRY can yield. Here we introduce a new DNA enrichment assay, coined YMCA (Y-mappable capture assay), that targets the &quot;mappable&quot; regions of the NRY. We show that compared to low-coverage shotgun sequencing and 1240 k capture, YMCA significantly improves the mean coverage and number of sites covered on the NRY, increasing the number of Y-haplogroup informative SNPs, and allowing for the identification of previously undiscovered variants. To illustrate the power of YMCA, we show that the analysis of ancient Y-chromosome lineages can help to resolve Y-chromosomal haplogroups. As a case study, we focus on H2, a haplogroup associated with a critical event in European human history: the Neolithic transition. By disentangling the evolutionary history of this haplogroup, we further elucidate the two separate paths by which early farmers expanded from Anatolia and the Near East to western Europe