Die Grabungen 2002-2004 auf dem Plateau St. Marcel

Der Mont Lassois, nahe der Kleinstadt Châtillon-sur-Seine, Dép. Côte d’Or gelegen, ist einer der bedeutendsten spätbronze- und eisenzeitlichen Fundplätze Frankreichs. Der landschaftsbeherrschende Zeugenberg innerhalb einer Seinetalweitung besteht aus zwei unterschiedlich hohen Plateaus mit steilen bis mäßig steilen Hängen. Im Süden liegt das Plateau des Mont Roussillon mit der Pfarrkirche Saint Marcel, im Norden befindet sich in einer Höhe von 306 m üNN das Plateau Mont Saint-Marcel mit einer Ausdehnung von 42 ha. Auf dem Plateau Saint Marcel wurden 2002 und 2003 jeweils vierwöchige Lehr- und Forschungsgrabungen unter der Leitung von D. Krausse und A. Haffner durchgeführt. Grundlage für die Schnitte A und B war eine kleinflächige geomagnetische Prospektion durch das Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden-Württemberg. Archäologisch wurde auf einer Länge von 14 m ein west-östlich verlaufender Graben bis zur Plateaukante untersucht, der eine Breite von etwa 70 cm und eine Tiefe von rund 90 cm aufweist. Die Grabeneinfüllung war stellenweise sehr steinreich und wies Hinweise auf Pfostenverkeilung auf; weitere Abschnitte sind als stark humos gekennzeichnet; sie waren durchsetzt mit Keramikscherben, Tierknochen, vereinzelt Kleinfunden aus Metall, Bein und Lignit. Nahe dem östlichen Plateaurand wurden weiterhin zwei rechtwinklig zu dem genannten Graben verlaufende Gräben erkannt. Im Jahr 2003 wurde die Fläche C auf der Basis des Magnetogramms angelegt. Die Grabung erbrachte eine große spätbronze- oder früheisenzeitliche Siedlungsgrube sowie zwei parallel verlaufende Grabenabschnitte. Der südöstliche Grabenabschnitt gehört zu dem großen Umfriedungssystem der zentralen komplexen Hausstruktur. Auf der Grundlage des geomagnetischen Gesamtplanes und vor dem Hintergrund der Antragstellung wurden für die achtwöchige Kampagne 2004 zwei Flächen ausgewählt. Hierbei handelte es sich zum einen um die West-Ost orientierte Gebäudestruktur mit apsidialem, mehrreihigem Westabschluss und Binnengliederung im Kontext mit dem Umfriedungssystem. Zum anderen sollte ein Areal untersucht werden, das Aussagen zum Charakter der Pfostenstrukturen sowie zu einer Graben- und Durchgangssituation im Bereich der Westhälfte des Plateaus erlaubt (Fläche E). Vor dem Hintergrund der geomagnetischen Prospektion und den Ergebnissen der französischen und österreichischen Grabungen wird deutlich, dass die in Fläche D erstmalig untersuchten Befunde einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Genese und Struktur dieses späthallstattzeitlichen Fürstensitzes leisten werden

Intramural child burials in Iron Age Navarra: How ancient DNA can contribute to household archaeology

The transition from the Late Bronze to the Iron Age on the Iberian Peninsula saw a shift in mortuary customs from mainly inhumation to cremation of the deceased. The poor preservation characteristic of cremated skeletal remains has hindered molecular analyses (isotope analyses, ancient DNA) of the Iberian Final Bronze and Iron Age communities of Iberia. Incidentally, a limited number of young children, often newborns, were exempt from the predominant cremation ritual, in favour of intramural inhumations inside buildings at certain settlements. The discourse surrounding the mean- ing and interpretation of this particular burial rite has developed over a long time in Iberian archaeology but has always been hampered by the limited anthropological, archaeological, and molecular data from these intramural inhumations. Here, we study the genomes of 37 intramurally buried children found in three Early Iron Age settlements, dated between c. 800–450 BC. Population genetic analyses on the newly reported individuals extend our understanding of ancient Iberia by revealing previously unsampled genetic diversity as well as showing a lesser influence of Mediterranean ancestry than on previously published Iron Age individuals from northern Spain. We also provide insights into the sex and biological relatedness of the children, and in so doing, elucidate differ- ent aspects of the intramural burial ritual and building use in settlements. More broadly, the genetic data from these individuals fill an important gap in the archaeogenetic record of northern Spain and offer a unique opportunity to study the genetic makeup and population changes from the Bronze Age to Antiquity.This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement number 851511). It has also been supported by the research project »Convergence and interaction between complex Bronze Age societies« from the Academia program of the Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA) of the Catalan Government and the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation (PID2020-112909GB-100)

Cases of trisomy 21 and trisomy 18 among historic and prehistoric individuals discovered from ancient DNA

Aneuploidies, and in particular, trisomies represent the most common genetic aberrations observed in human genetics today. To explore the presence of trisomies in historic and prehistoric populations we screen nearly 10,000 ancient human individuals for the presence of three copies of any of the target autosomes. We find clear genetic evidence for six cases of trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) and one case of trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome), and all cases are present in infant or perinatal burials. We perform comparative osteological examinations of the skeletal remains and find overlapping skeletal markers, many of which are consistent with these syndromes. Interestingly, three cases of trisomy 21, and the case of trisomy 18 were detected in two contemporaneous sites in early Iron Age Spain (800-400 BCE), potentially suggesting a higher frequency of burials of trisomy carriers in those societies. Notably, the care with which the burials were conducted, and the items found with these individuals indicate that ancient societies likely acknowledged these individuals with trisomy 18 and 21 as members of their communities, from the perspective of burial practice

Ancient Plasmodium genomes shed light on the history of human malaria

Malaria-causing protozoa of the genus Plasmodium have exerted one of the strongest selective pressures on the human genome, and resistance alleles provide biomolecular footprints that outline the historical reach of these species1. Nevertheless, debate persists over when and how malaria parasites emerged as human pathogens and spread around the globe1,2. To address these questions, we generated high-coverage ancient mitochondrial and nuclear genome-wide data from P. falciparum, P. vivax and P. malariae from 16 countries spanning around 5,500 years of human history. We identified P. vivax and P. falciparum across geographically disparate regions of Eurasia from as early as the fourth and first millennia bce, respectively; for P. vivax, this evidence pre-dates textual references by several millennia3. Genomic analysis supports distinct disease histories for P. falciparum and P. vivax in the Americas: similarities between now-eliminated European and peri-contact South American strains indicate that European colonizers were the source of American P. vivax, whereas the trans-Atlantic slave trade probably introduced P. falciparum into the Americas. Our data underscore the role of cross-cultural contacts in the dissemination of malaria, laying the biomolecular foundation for future palaeo-epidemiological research into the impact of Plasmodium parasites on human history. Finally, our unexpected discovery of P. falciparum in the high-altitude Himalayas provides a rare case study in which individual mobility can be inferred from infection status, adding to our knowledge of cross-cultural connectivity in the region nearly three millennia ago.This project was funded by the National Science Foundation, grants BCS-2141896 and BCS-1528698; the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme, grants 851511-MICROSCOPE (to S. Schiffels), 771234-PALEoRIDER (to W.H.) and starting grant 805268-CoDisEASe (to K.I.B.); and the ERC starting grant Waves ERC758967 (supporting K. Nägele and S.C.). We thank the Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean for supporting M. Michel, E. Skourtanioti, A.M., R.A.B., L.C.B., G.U.N., N.S., V.V.-M., M. McCormick, P.W.S., C.W. and J.K.; the Kone Foundation for supporting E.K.G. and A.S.; and the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Helsinki for grants to E.K.G. A.S. thanks the Magnus Ehrnrooth Foundation, the Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Academy of Finland, the Life and Health Medical Foundation and the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters. M.C.B. acknowledges funding from: research project PID2020-116196GB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033; the Spanish Ministry of Culture; the Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation; Fundación Palarq; the EU FP7 Marie Curie Zukunftskolleg Incoming Fellowship Programme, University of Konstanz (grant 291784); STAR2-Santander Universidades and Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports; and CEI 2015 project Cantabria Campus Internacional. M.E. received support from the Czech Academy of Sciences award Praemium Academiae and project RVO 67985912 of the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague. This work has been funded within project PID2020-115956GB-I00 ‘Origen y conformación del Bronce Valenciano’, granted by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain, and grants from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (MZI187236), Research Nova Scotia (RNS 2023-2565) and The Center for Health Research in Developing Countries. D.K. is the Canada research chair in translational vaccinology and inflammation. R.L.K. acknowledges support from a 2019 University of Otago research grant (Human health and adaptation along Silk Roads, a bioarchaeological investigation of a medieval Uzbek cemetery). P.O. thanks the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Academy of Finland. S. Peltola received support from the Emil Aaltonen Foundation and the Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation. D.C.S.-G. thanks the Generalitat Valenciana (CIDEGENT/2019/061). E.W.K. acknowledges support from the DEEPDEAD project, HERA-UP, CRP (15.055) and the Horizon 2020 programme (grant 649307). M. Spyrou thanks the Elite program for postdocs of the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung. Open access funding provided by Max Planck Society

Réflexions sur l’architecture monumentale à la fin du premier âge du Fer

International audienc

Essen und Trinken am Mont-Lassois in Burgund. Neue Erkenntnisse zu Bedeutungen und Funktionen lokaler und importierter Keramik in der fühen Eisezeit

International audienc

New insights into Early Celtic consumption practices: Organic residue analyses of local and imported pottery from Vix-Mont Lassois

The rich Mediterranean imports found in Early Celtic princely sites (7th-5th cent. BC) in Southwestern Germany, Switzerland and Eastern France have long been the focus of archaeological and public interest. Consumption practices, particularly in the context of feasting, played a major role in Early Celtic life and imported ceramic vessels have consequently been interpreted as an attempt by the elite to imitate Mediterranean wine feasting. Here we present the first scientific study carried out to elucidate the use of Mediterranean imports in Early Celtic Central Europe and their local ceramic counterparts through organic residue analyses of 99 vessels from Vix-Mont Lassois, a key Early Celtic site. In the Mediterranean imports we identified imported plant oils and grape wine, and evidence points towards appropriation of these foreign vessels. Both Greek and local wares served for drinking grape wine and other plant-based fermented beverage(s). A wide variety of animal and plant by-products (e.g. fats, oils, waxes, resin) were also identified. Using an integrative approach, we show the importance of beehive products, millet and bacteriohopanoid beverage(s) in Early Celtic drinking practices. We highlight activities related to biomaterial transformation and show intra-site and status-related differences in consumption practices and/or beverage processing

Essen und Trinken am Mont Lassois in Burgund. Neue Erkenntnisse zu Bedeutungen und Funktionen lokaler und importierter Keramik in der frühen Eisenzeit

From 2015 to 2018 the joint research project “BEFIM” conducted interdisciplinary research to achieve a better understanding of the “Meanings and functions of Mediterranean imports in Early Iron Age Central Europe” for which it was supported by a grant of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Within the project, large-scale organic residue analyses on pottery from important Early Iron Age settlements were performed, focusing on two key Late Hallstatt sites: the Heuneburg and the Mont Lassois. For the Mont Lassois, the results were based on the analyses of 99 ceramic vessels of both local and Mediterranean origin. We observed not only different consumption practices in the several settlement areas of the Mont Lassois, but also a complex translation process with regard to the appropriation of Mediterranean food (such as grape wine and olive oil) and consumption practices, that also showed a spatial differentiation. For many years, scholars supposed an imitation of the Mediterranean (especially Greek style) symposium by the “Early Celts”. The new results from the organic residue analyses force us to rethink this. Apart from new insights into Early Iron Age eating and drinking practices, we gained new information on the preparation of food and on storage practices at the Mont Lassois. Furthermore, the detection of locally available goods such as bee products, millet, and a bacterial fermentation product (a beverage?) led to an enhancement of our knowledge of the extent of exploitation of these natural resources at the Mont Lassois during the Early Iron Age

Essen und Trinken am Mont Lassois in Burgund. Neue Erkenntnisse zu Bedeutungen und Funktionen lokaler und importierter Keramik in der frühen Eisenzeit

From 2015 to 2018 the joint research project “BEFIM” conducted interdisciplinary research to achieve a better understanding of the “Meanings and functions of Mediterranean imports in Early Iron Age Central Europe” for which it was supported by a grant of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Within the project, large-scale organic residue analyses on pottery from important Early Iron Age settlements were performed, focusing on two key Late Hallstatt sites: the Heuneburg and the Mont Lassois. For the Mont Lassois, the results were based on the analyses of 99 ceramic vessels of both local and Mediterranean origin. We observed not only different consumption practices in the several settlement areas of the Mont Lassois, but also a complex translation process with regard to the appropriation of Mediterranean food (such as grape wine and olive oil) and consumption practices, that also showed a spatial differentiation. For many years, scholars supposed an imitation of the Mediterranean (especially Greek style) symposium by the “Early Celts”. The new results from the organic residue analyses force us to rethink this. Apart from new insights into Early Iron Age eating and drinking practices, we gained new information on the preparation of food and on storage practices at the Mont Lassois. Furthermore, the detection of locally available goods such as bee products, millet, and a bacterial fermentation product (a beverage?) led to an enhancement of our knowledge of the extent of exploitation of these natural resources at the Mont Lassois during the Early Iron Age

The origin and legacy of the Etruscans through a 2000-year archeogenomic time transect

The origin, development, and legacy of the enigmatic Etruscan civilization from the central region of the Italian peninsula known as Etruria have been debated for centuries. Here we report a genomic time transect of 82 individuals spanning almost two millennia (800 BCE to 1000 CE) across Etruria and southern Italy. During the Iron Age, we detect a component of Indo-European–associated steppe ancestry and the lack of recent Anatolian-related admixture among the putative non–Indo-European–speaking Etruscans. Despite comprising diverse individuals of central European, northern African, and Near Eastern ancestry, the local gene pool is largely maintained across the first millennium BCE. This drastically changes during the Roman Imperial period where we report an abrupt population-wide shift to ~50% admixture with eastern Mediterranean ancestry. Last, we identify northern European components appearing in central Italy during the Early Middle Ages, which thus formed the genetic landscape of present-day Italian populations