Life history in primate teeth is revealed by changes in major and minor element concentrations measured via field-emission SEM-EDS analysis

Overcoming the non-specificity of histological accentuated growth lines in hard tissues is an ongoing challenge. Identifying season at death and reproductive events has profound implications for evolutionary, ecological and conservation studies. Dental cementum is a mineralized tissue with yearly periodicity that continues deposition from tooth formation until death, maintaining a record spanning almost the entire life of an individual. Recent work has successfully employed elemental analysis of calcified incremental tissues to detect changes in extrinsic conditions such as diet and climate and to identify two important life-history milestones: weaning and sexual maturity. Here, we employ field-emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis to measure the relative concentrations of calcium, phosphorous, oxygen, magnesium and sodium in the cementum of 34 teeth from seven male and female rhesus macaques with known medical and life-history information. We find that changes in relative magnesium concentrations correspond with reproductive events in females and breastfeeding in infants. Additionally, we observe seasonal calcium patterns in 77.3% of the samples

Cranial trephination and infectious disease in the Eastern Mediterranean: The evidence from two elite brothers from Late Bronze Megiddo, Israel

Here we present the paleopathological profiles of two young adult males, identified as brothers through ancient DNA analysis, who were buried together beneath the floor of an elite early Late Bronze Age I (ca. 1550–1450 BC) domestic structure at the urban center of Megiddo (modern Israel). Both individuals displayed uncommon morphological variants related to developmental conditions, and each exhibited extensive bone remodeling consistent with chronic infectious disease. Additionally, one brother had a healed fracture of the nose, as well as a large square piece of bone cut from the frontal bone (cranial trephination). We consider the potential etiologies for the appearance of the skeletal anomalies and lesions. Based on the bioarchaeological context, we propose that a shared epigenetic landscape predisposed the brothers to acquiring an infectious disease and their elite status privileged them enough to endure it. We then contextualize these potential illnesses and disorders with the trephination procedure. The infrequency of trephination in the region indicates that only selected individuals could access such a procedure, and the severity of the pathological lesions suggests the procedure was possibly intended as curative to deteriorating health. Ultimately, both brothers were buried with the same rites as others in their community, thus demonstrating their continued integration in society even after death

Cranial trephination and infectious disease in the Eastern Mediterranean: The evidence from two elite brothers from Late Bronze Megiddo, Israel.

Here we present the paleopathological profiles of two young adult males, identified as brothers through ancient DNA analysis, who were buried together beneath the floor of an elite early Late Bronze Age I (ca. 1550-1450 BC) domestic structure at the urban center of Megiddo (modern Israel). Both individuals displayed uncommon morphological variants related to developmental conditions, and each exhibited extensive bone remodeling consistent with chronic infectious disease. Additionally, one brother had a healed fracture of the nose, as well as a large square piece of bone cut from the frontal bone (cranial trephination). We consider the potential etiologies for the appearance of the skeletal anomalies and lesions. Based on the bioarchaeological context, we propose that a shared epigenetic landscape predisposed the brothers to acquiring an infectious disease and their elite status privileged them enough to endure it. We then contextualize these potential illnesses and disorders with the trephination procedure. The infrequency of trephination in the region indicates that only selected individuals could access such a procedure, and the severity of the pathological lesions suggests the procedure was possibly intended as curative to deteriorating health. Ultimately, both brothers were buried with the same rites as others in their community, thus demonstrating their continued integration in society even after death

Elemental composition of primary lamellar bone differs between parous and nulliparous rhesus macaque females

Extracting life history information from mineralized hard tissues of extant and extinct species is an ongoing challenge in evolutionary and conservation studies. Primary lamellar bone is a mineralized tissue with multidien periodicity that begins deposition prenatally and continues until adulthood albeit with concurrent resorption, thus maintaining a record spanning several years of an individual’s life. Here, we use field-emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis to measure the relative concentrations of calcium, phosphorous, oxygen, magnesium and sodium in the femora of seven rhesus macaque with known medical and life-history information. We find that the concentration of these elements distinguishes parous from nulliparous females; that in females calcium and phosphorus are lower in bone formed during reproductive events; and that significant differences in relative magnesium concentration correlate with breastfeeding in infants.ISSN:1932-620

The genomic history of the Bronze Age Southern Levant

We report genome-wide DNA data for 73 individuals from five archaeological sites across the Bronze and Iron Ages Southern Levant. These individuals, who share the “Canaanite” material culture, can be modeled as descending from two sources: (1) earlier local Neolithic populations and (2) populations related to the Chalcolithic Zagros or the Bronze Age Caucasus. The non-local contribution increased over time, as evinced by three outliers who can be modeled as descendants of recent migrants. We show evidence that different “Canaanite” groups genetically resemble each other more than other populations. We find that Levant-related modern populations typically have substantial ancestry coming from populations related to the Chalcolithic Zagros and the Bronze Age Southern Levant. These groups also harbor ancestry from sources we cannot fully model with the available data, highlighting the critical role of post-Bronze-Age migrations into the region over the past 3,000 years