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

Centrinės ir Rytų Europos finalinio paleolito ir mezolito kartografavimas

The publication examines the territorial aspects of the end of the Ice Age / Early Holocene Period in Central / Eastern Europe. Researchers from the desna-type cultural groups from the seventies to the nineties of the 20th century distinguished Jenevo, Grensko, Krasnosilsk, Pcsochny Rovo in eastern Europe and dated the end of Paleolithic or the early Mesolithic. The monotonous nozzles and trapezoidal features typical of the Desna culture have shown the cumulative cultural character of these works: they are typical for the districts of Central and Eastern Europe, and their distribution range largely coincides with the territory of Svidri culture. Since in the end of the late Paleolithic, Central and Western Europe was densely populated. The author raises doubts about the fact that the Desna culture is dated only to the early Mesolithic, assuming that the Desna culture was likely to exist both at the end of the Paleolithic and at the beginning of the Mesolithic, and therefore offers a territorial division of the Desna culture. The hypothesis is that there is a continuous territorial connection between similar cultural groups in Scandinavia and the culture of Desna. The author singled out 5 types of one-sided Havel-type jerbools and mapped them out, revealing their territorial distribution. The study has identified three distribution areas: jerbool symbiotic bases are distributed between Pamarys (Pomerania) and the Nemunas River; with asymmetric basis - in two regions (west of Oder and between Masuria and Estonia). According to the data of the chronology and cartography, the hypothesis is that the first area is related to the culture of Svidra, the second with Arensburg and the third, possibly with the culture of Desna

Nemrik 9, a PPN Neolithic site in Northern Iraq

The article characterizes the PPN site Nemrik 9 in Northern Iraq. It is a vast site with several layers of settlement. The settlement begins at the end of the 9th millennium ВС, and it ends in the middle of the 7th millennium ВС. Round houses were replaced by rectangular ones during the last phase of building. A graveyard and a midden were also discovered, and the full extent of the stone pavement was reconstructed. All this makes it possible to reconstruct nearly a complete plan of the early Neolithic village, at least during its two latest phases.Le site néolithique acéramique de Nemrik 9, en Iraq du Nord, remonte à la fin du 9e millénaire avant J.C. L'occupation se termine au 7e millénaire avant J.C. Aux maisons rondes succèdent dans la dernière phase des structures rectangulaires. Un cimetière, une fosse à détritus, un pavement de galets dégagé sur une grande surface ont été également mis à jour. Toutes ces structures permettent d'obtenir une vue presque complète des plans du village lors des deux phases les plus récentes.Kozlowski Stefan Karol. Nemrik 9, a PPN Neolithic site in Northern Iraq. In: Paléorient, 1989, vol. 15, n°1. pp. 25-31

E pluribus unum ? Regards sur l’Europe mésolithique

The Mesolithic Europe, child of the Late Glacial Europe, seems to be perfectly inified as concerns the economy and the social organization. Everywhere the hunting of a big game is practicized : this game is regionally differenciated. The fishing is also present everywhere but in the lake districts and on the seashore, it seems to be more intensive and is realised by the more specialised equipment. The gathering is completing the diet and is also regionally diversified. The social and territorial organisation seems to be also similar in all regions (social territories with their boundaries, base and satellite camps, seasonality, nuclear and enlarged family, economy of the raw materials, settlement, rhytms of stylistic changes, interregional contacts). The most characteristic arms serving to hunt are the arrowhead and the spearhead/harpoon. They constitue a good base for the taxonomic studies. The domestic tools (end-scrapers, burins and retouched blades are less useful for this study). The arrowheads are either geometric and microlithic (West, South and center), or pedonculated (East and Nord). The spearheads/harpoons are also regionally diversified. The hunting weapons show the estonishing stylistic diversity across the Europe, which is so strongly socially and economically uniform. This diversity is visible on the map of the continent and seems derive of the precedent. Late Glacial diversity, deepened later by the environmental factors, by the traditionalism of the forest communities and finally by a strong isolationalism.L’Europe mésolithique, enfant de l’Europe tardiglaciaire, semble être parfaitement unie dans le sens économique et social. Partout est pratiquée la chasse au grand gibier (qui diffère selon les grandes régions). La pêche est aussi présente partout, mais dans les régions lacustres et au bord de la mer, elle semble être beaucoup plus intensive qu’ailleurs et réalisée par des moyens plus spécialisés. La cueillette complète partout le menu, elle est diversifiée régionalement. L’organisation sociale et territoriale semble être elle aussi similaire partout (territoires restreints, campements de base et satellites, saisonnalité, famille nucléaire et élargie, économie de la matière première, habitats, rythmes des changements stylistiques, contacts inter-régionaux). Les outils les plus caractéristiques servant à la chasse sont la flèche et la sagaie/harpon. Ils constituent une bonne base pour les études taxonomiques. Les outils domestiques, comme les grattoirs, les burins et les lames retouchées, sont beaucoup moins utiles pour ce type d’étude. Les pointes de flèches sont soit géométriques et microlithiques à l’ouest, au sud et au centre, soit pédonculées à l’est et au nord. Les sagaies/harpons sont elles aussi diversifiées régionalement. Les armes de chasse montrent une diversité stylistique étonnante, dans cette Europe économiquement et socialement unie (cf. supra). Cette diversité se traduit territorialement et semble dériver de la diversité précédente tardiglaciaire, approfondie plus tard par des différences environnementales, par le traditionalisme des sociétés forestières et un isolationnisme poussé.Kozlowski Stefan Karol. E pluribus unum ? Regards sur l’Europe mésolithique. In: Préhistoire de l’Europe : des origines à l’Âge du Bronze. Actes du 125e Congrès national des sociétés historiques et scientifiques, « L’Europe », Lille, 2000. Paris : Editions du CTHS, 2003. pp. 293-300. (Actes du Congrès national des sociétés savantes, 125

Flint Industry from house 1/1A/1B at the PPN site in Nemrik 9, Northern Iraq

The article presents the flint industry from the PPN site Nemrik 9 in Northern Iraq. Among cores, those with one striking platform for bladelets removed using pressure techniques are in majority. Among retouched tools, blades, perforators, flakes, endscrapers, tanged points/points of Nemrik type, Khiamian points, backed pieces, etc., are present. The sample from the houses IB, 1A and 1 lying one up on the other, does not show any significant change during ca. 1 000 years of settlement. We call this industry the Nemrikian.Présentation de l'assemblage lithique de Nemrik 9, site néolithique acéramique d'Iraq du Nord : nucleus coniques à un plan de frappe, débitage lamellaire (technique par pression), lames retouchées, outils perçants, éclats retouchés, grattoirs, pointes de flèches dites de Nemrik, pointes d'El-Khiam, lamelles ou pointes à dos permettent de caractériser cette industrie et de la définir comme «Nemrikien». Aucune évolution importante n'est notée entre l'industrie des couches du 9e millénaire et celles de la première moitié du 7e.Kozlowski Stefan Karol, Szymczak Katja. Flint Industry from house 1/1A/1B at the PPN site in Nemrik 9, Northern Iraq. In: Paléorient, 1989, vol. 15, n°1. pp. 32-42

To be or not to be… Neolithic: “Failed attempts” at Neolithization in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Near East, and their final success (35,000-7000 BP)

After a brief parallel presentation of the development of the Upper Paleolithic cultures in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in the Near East we propose a new paradigm for the issue of the process, that is to say, the birth of Neolithization. Instead of a sudden appareance within a few centuries around 9000 BP, we think that the phenomenon is the result of a long and chaotic story which began independently in both continents more than 35,000 years ago. After many attempts which failed one after the other due to the severe and repeated climatic fl uctuations at the end of the Pleistocene and/ or due to the lack of ‘ understanding’ vegetal and animal species which were ‘ ready’ to ‘ accept’ domestication, the success arrived in very precise environmental and climatic conditions at the beginning of the Holocene in only one of the two regions, the Near East. If Neolithization doesn’t appear earlier it’s not because ‘ culture’ was not ready, but because ‘ nature’ was not able to give a favourable answer to the request of man.Après une brève mise en parallèle du développement des cultures du Paléolithique supérieur en Europe centrale et orientale ainsi qu’au Proche-Orient, nous proposons un nouveau modèle de l’achèvement de ce processus, c’est-à-dire l’apparition de la néolithisation. Plutôt que d’admettre une apparition soudaine en quelques siècles autour de 9000 BP, nous pensons que ce phénomène est l’aboutissement d’une histoire longue et chaotique commencée de manière indépendante sur les deux continents il y a plus de 35 000 ans. Après plusieurs tentatives qui ont échoué à la suite de fluctuations climatiques sévères et répétées à la fi n du Pleistocène, et/ ou à la suite du «refus » de certaines espèces végétales ou animales de se laisser alors domestiquer, le succès s’est produit dans des circonstances environnementales et climatiques précises au début de l’Holocène dans l’une des deux régions seulement, le Proche-Orient. Si la néolithisation n’est pas apparue plus tôt, ce n’est pas parce que la ‘ culture’ n’était pas prête, mais parce que la ‘ nature’ n’était pas en mesure de donner une réponse favorable à la demande de l’homme.Aurenche Olivier, Kozlowski J., Kozlowski Stefan Karol. To be or not to be… Neolithic: “Failed attempts” at Neolithization in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Near East, and their final success (35,000-7000 BP). In: Paléorient, 2013, vol. 39, n°2. pp. 5-45

Human remains from Nemrik, Iraq. An insight into living conditions and burial customs in a Pre-Pottery Neolithic village

Nemrik 9/ 10 is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Northern Iraq that was excavated in 1985-1989 by S. K. Kozłowski. The remains of at least 96 individuals were found in the excavated strata, most of which were dated to ca 9100– 8600 BP. The bones were in poor condition, but several observations of taphonomic effects and indicators of diet, stress, physical activity, trauma and diseases were possible. First, a major change in burial practices occurred in Nemrik after ca 8900 BP. Prior to this date both adults and subadults were buried in domestic contexts. Moreover, there is some evidence of prolonged exposure of bodies. Later, the extramural cemetery was established for adults and multiple burials (of commingled elements) were replaced by single burials with no evidence of post mortem exposure. Inhabitants of Nemrik were farmers who based their diet on roughly processed cereals, but the pattern of dental wear suggests that it may have been comparable or even softer on average, than the diet of later Northern Mesopotamia inhabitants. Dental caries was extremely rare, but a high rate of linear enamel hypoplasia suggests stressful living conditions. The pattern of trauma and injuries is typical for a farming population and no evidence of interpersonal violence or injuries related to hunting was observed. In this respect Nemrik differs strikingly from the Proto-Neolithic cemetery found in the Shanidar Cave.Nemrik 9/ 10 est un site du Néolithique précéramique en Irak, fouillé par S. K. Kozłowski en 1985-1989. Les restes de 96 individus au moins ont été découverts dans des niveaux datés de ca 9100 à 8600 BP, pour la majorité. Les os étaient mal conservés mais plusieurs observations d’ordre taphonomique et sur les marqueurs permettant d’évaluer l’alimentation, le stress, l’activité physique, les traumatismes et maladies ont été possibles. En premier lieu, un changement important dans les coutumes funéraires est intervenu après ca 8900 BP. Adultes et sub-adultes étaient auparavant enterrés dans les espaces domestiques. Des indices d’une exposition prolongée des corps ont été également observés. Plus tard, le cimetière aménagé en périphérie a été destiné aux adultes et les sépultures multiples ont été remplacées par des sépultures individuelles sans aucun indice d’une exposition post mortem. Les habitants de Nemrik étaient des agriculteurs dont l’alimentation était à base de céréales mais le mode d’usure dentaire suggère que leur régime alimentaire était comparable ou même plus léger en moyenne que celui des populations plus récentes du nord de la Mésopotamie. Les caries étaient très rares mais le haut degré d’hypoplasie linéaire de l’émail suggère des conditions de vie très contraignantes. Les traumatismes et les blessures étaient caractéristiques d’une population agricole et aucun indice de violence entre personnes et de blessures en relation avec la chasse n’a été observé. Nemrik présente à cet égard des différences frappantes avec le cimetière proto-néolithique découvert dans la grotte de Shanidar.Sołtysiak Arkadiusz, Wiercinska Alina, Kozlowski Stefan Karol. Human remains from Nemrik, Iraq. An insight into living conditions and burial customs in a Pre-Pottery Neolithic village. In: Paléorient, 2015, vol. 41, n°2. pp. 101-114

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