The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the Early English gene pool

The history of the British Isles and Ireland is characterized by multiple periods of major cultural change, including the influential transformation after the end of Roman rule, which precipitated shifts in language, settlement patterns and material culture1. The extent to which migration from continental Europe mediated these transitions is a matter of long-standing debate [2,3,4]. Here we study genome-wide ancient DNA from 460 medieval northwestern Europeans—including 278 individuals from England—alongside archaeological data, to infer contemporary population dynamics. We identify a substantial increase of continental northern European ancestry in early medieval England, which is closely related to the early medieval and present-day inhabitants of Germany and Denmark, implying large-scale substantial migration across the North Sea into Britain during the Early Middle Ages. As a result, the individuals who we analysed from eastern England derived up to 76% of their ancestry from the continental North Sea zone, albeit with substantial regional variation and heterogeneity within sites. We show that women with immigrant ancestry were more often furnished with grave goods than women with local ancestry, whereas men with weapons were as likely not to be of immigrant ancestry. A comparison with present-day Britain indicates that subsequent demographic events reduced the fraction of continental northern European ancestry while introducing further ancestry components into the English gene pool, including substantial southwestern European ancestry most closely related to that seen in Iron Age France [5,6]

Maternal relationships within an Iron Age burial at the High Pasture Cave, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Human remains from the Iron Age in Atlantic Scotland are rare, which makes the assemblage of an adult female and numerous foetal bones at High Pasture Cave, on the Isle of Skye, particularly noteworthy. Archaeological evidence suggests that the female had been deposited as an articulated skeleton when the cave entrance was blocked off, marking the end of use of the site. Particularly intriguing is the deposition of disarticulated remains from a foetus and perinate close to the adult female, which opens the possibility that the female might have been the mother of both of the infants. We used shotgun genome sequencing in order to analyse the mitochondrial genomes of all three individuals and investigate their maternal relationship, and we report here, for the first time, complete ancient mitogenomes from foetal-aged bone fragments. While we could not exclude the possibility that the female was the mother of, or maternally related to, the foetus, we could definitely say that she was not the mother of the perinate buried alongside her. This finding is contrary to the standard archaeological interpretation, that women in such burials most likely died in childbirth and were buried together with their foetuses

Étude biologique des sujets mésolithiques de l’Abri du Squelette (Les Eyzies, Dordogne, France)

L’Abri du Squelette, découvert en 1938 sur les rives de la Vézère (Dordogne, France) a livré les restes squelettiques d’au moins 3 individus qui n’ont été que récemment reconnus comme mésolithiques. La collection ostéologique est composée de vestiges recueillis lors de deux opérations archéologiques (2012, 2018) et de ceux conservés au Musée national de Préhistoire. Une étude biologique interdisciplinaire de ces restes humains a été entreprise. Les deux sujets étudiés s’inscrivent dans la va..

Biomolecular insights into North African-related ancestry, mobility and diet in eleventh-century Al-Andalus.

Funder: Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental HealthFunder: Leverhulme TrustHistorical records document medieval immigration from North Africa to Iberia to create Islamic al-Andalus. Here, we present a low-coverage genome of an eleventh century CE man buried in an Islamic necropolis in Segorbe, near Valencia, Spain. Uniparental lineages indicate North African ancestry, but at the autosomal level he displays a mosaic of North African and European-like ancestries, distinct from any present-day population. Altogether, the genome-wide evidence, stable isotope results and the age of the burial indicate that his ancestry was ultimately a result of admixture between recently arrived Amazigh people (Berbers) and the population inhabiting the Peninsula prior to the Islamic conquest. We detect differences between our sample and a previously published group of contemporary individuals from Valencia, exemplifying how detailed, small-scale aDNA studies can illuminate fine-grained regional and temporal differences. His genome demonstrates how ancient DNA studies can capture portraits of past genetic variation that have been erased by later demographic shifts-in this case, most likely the seventeenth century CE expulsion of formerly Islamic communities as tolerance dissipated following the Reconquista by the Catholic kingdoms of the north

Author Correction: The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the early English gene pool.

See original record

The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the early English gene pool.

The history of the British Isles and Ireland is characterized by multiple periods of major cultural change, including the influential transformation after the end of Roman rule, which precipitated shifts in language, settlement patterns and material culture1. The extent to which migration from continental Europe mediated these transitions is a matter of long-standing debate2-4. Here we study genome-wide ancient DNA from 460 medieval northwestern Europeans-including 278 individuals from England-alongside archaeological data, to infer contemporary population dynamics. We identify a substantial increase of continental northern European ancestry in early medieval England, which is closely related to the early medieval and present-day inhabitants of Germany and Denmark, implying large-scale substantial migration across the North Sea into Britain during the Early Middle Ages. As a result, the individuals who we analysed from eastern England derived up to 76% of their ancestry from the continental North Sea zone, albeit with substantial regional variation and heterogeneity within sites. We show that women with immigrant ancestry were more often furnished with grave goods than women with local ancestry, whereas men with weapons were as likely not to be of immigrant ancestry. A comparison with present-day Britain indicates that subsequent demographic events reduced the fraction of continental northern European ancestry while introducing further ancestry components into the English gene pool, including substantial southwestern European ancestry most closely related to that seen in Iron Age France5,6

The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the early English gene pool

The history of the British Isles and Ireland is characterized by multiple periods of major cultural change, including the influential transformation after the end of Roman rule, which precipitated shifts in language, settlement patterns and material culture1. The extent to which migration from continental Europe mediated these transitions is a matter of long-standing debate2,3,4. Here we study genome-wide ancient DNA from 460 medieval northwestern Europeans—including 278 individuals from England—alongside archaeological data, to infer contemporary population dynamics. We identify a substantial increase of continental northern European ancestry in early medieval England, which is closely related to the early medieval and present-day inhabitants of Germany and Denmark, implying large-scale substantial migration across the North Sea into Britain during the Early Middle Ages. As a result, the individuals who we analysed from eastern England derived up to 76% of their ancestry from the continental North Sea zone, albeit with substantial regional variation and heterogeneity within sites. We show that women with immigrant ancestry were more often furnished with grave goods than women with local ancestry, whereas men with weapons were as likely not to be of immigrant ancestry. A comparison with present-day Britain indicates that subsequent demographic events reduced the fraction of continental northern European ancestry while introducing further ancestry components into the English gene pool, including substantial southwestern European ancestry most closely related to that seen in Iron Age France5,6

Adsorption of Cerium Salts and Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles on Microbubbles Can Be Induced by a Fluorocarbon Gas

International audienceRetrieving heavy metals from wastewaters has become an important environmental challenge. We report that exposing dilute aqueous solutions or dispersions of cerium compounds (CeO 2 , Ce(SO 4) 2 , CeF 4) to perfluorohexane-saturated air results in substantial adsorption of these salts at the air/water interface, as consistently reflected by a marked decrease in interfacial tension, as assessed by bubble-shape profile analysis tensiometry. No detectable adsorption is observed in the absence of the fluorocarbon. Adsorption to the interface is also achieved when, and only when, CeO 2 nanoparticle dispersions are exposed to the fluorocarbon vapor. We also found that microbubbles could be generated in cerium salt solutions and CeO 2 nanoparticle dispersions when they are formed in the presence of perfluorohexane-saturated air, without need for any surfactant or chelating agent. Optical microscopy, static light scattering, and ζ potential measurements were used to establish the ability for the fluorocarbon to induce the formation and stabilize these microbubbles. These findings could provide the basis for a new approach to heavy metal (including radioactive element) recovery and recycling from industrial and other effluents that would combine ionic flotation and fluorocarbon gas-driven adsorption on microbubbles. Extraction of critical raw materials from dilute solutions could also be considered. ■ INTRODUCTION Averting the release of heavy-metal-containing industrial effluents to the environment has become mandatory. This is the case, in particular, for wastewaters released from mining, recycling, or nuclear energy production sites, not to mention nuclear power site decommissioning. Unrelenting efforts are being devoted to assessing the ecological impact and health risks and setting authorized limits for heavy metal and radioactive element discharges, reducing the environmental impact of such effluents, and remediation. 1 On the other hand, there is concern that supplies will not meet demand for many strategic metals in the future, 2,3 thereby founding another powerful incentive for developing new procedures for metal recovery from dilute aqueous media and for recycling critical metallic materials. Such procedures could therefore have substantial economic and environmental value and be part of effective sustainability strategies. 4 The recycling rates of metals are presently far below their potential and need boosting, which calls for innovative retrieval technologies. 5−7 Recycling also contributes to climate change mitigation by saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 8 Cost-and energy-effective technologies could moreover open access to numerous heavy metals from seawater, a virtually inexhaustible potential source for strategic raw materials, including over four billion tons of uranium. 9,10 Several techniques and combinations of techniques, including chemical precipitation, ion-exchange, ultrafiltration, coagulation−flocculation, liquid−liquid or liquid−solid extraction , flotation, gravitational, electrochemical, electromagnetic, and bioremediation methods, are currently being used to separate and collect heavy metals, including radioactive metals, from wastewater. 11,12 Commonly used liquid−liquid processes for decontamination require use of (not so environmentally friendly) solvents and surfactants. 13 Another effective process for heavy metal ion recovery, particularly from dilute solutions, is ionic flotation. 14−18 Separation by ionic flotation involves the generation and stabilization by a surfactant or chelating agent of air bubbles on which metal ions adsorb. The bubbles will thus collect the metal ions, and the metal-ion-loaded bubbles will then float toward the surface and form foams that are easily retrieved. However, subsequent separation of the surfactant adds an extra step that is not always simple to achieve on a large scale