23 research outputs found

    New insights into the Upper Palaeolithic of the Caucasus through the study of personal ornaments. Teeth and bones pendants from Satsurblia and Dzudzuana caves (Imereti, Georgia)

    Get PDF
    The region of western Georgia (Imereti) in the Southern Caucasus has been a major geographic corridor for human migrations during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Data of recent research and excavations in this region display its importance as a possible route for the dispersal of anatomically modern humans (AMH) into northern Eurasia. Nevertheless, within the local research context, bone-working and personal ornaments have yet contributed but little to the Upper Palaeolithic (UP) regional sequence’s characterization. Here we present an archaeozoological, technological and use-wear study of pendants from two local UP assemblages, originating in the Dzudzuana Cave and Satsurblia Cave. The ornaments were made mostly of perforated teeth, though some specimens were made on bone. Both the manufacturing marks made during preparation and use-wear traces indicate that they were personal ornaments, used as pendants or attached to garments. Detailed comparison between ornament assemblages from northern and southern Caucasus reveal that they are quite similar, supporting the observation of cultural bonds between the two regions, demonstrated previously through lithic techno-typological affinities. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance attributed to red deer (Cervus elaphus) by the UP societies of the Caucasus in sharing aesthetic values and/or a symbolic sphere

    Upper Palaeolithic genomes reveal deep roots of modern Eurasians.

    Get PDF
    We extend the scope of European palaeogenomics by sequencing the genomes of Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,300 years old, 1.4-fold coverage) and Mesolithic (9,700 years old, 15.4-fold) males from western Georgia in the Caucasus and a Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,700 years old, 9.5-fold) male from Switzerland. While we detect Late Palaeolithic-Mesolithic genomic continuity in both regions, we find that Caucasus hunter-gatherers (CHG) belong to a distinct ancient clade that split from western hunter-gatherers ∼45 kya, shortly after the expansion of anatomically modern humans into Europe and from the ancestors of Neolithic farmers ∼25 kya, around the Last Glacial Maximum. CHG genomes significantly contributed to the Yamnaya steppe herders who migrated into Europe ∼3,000 BC, supporting a formative Caucasus influence on this important Early Bronze age culture. CHG left their imprint on modern populations from the Caucasus and also central and south Asia possibly marking the arrival of Indo-Aryan languages.This research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant to R.P. (ERC-2010-StG 263441). D.B., M.H and AM. were also supported by the ERC (295729-CodeX, 310763-GeneFlow and 647787-LocalAdaptation respectively). The National Geographic Global Exploration Fund funded fieldwork in Satsurblia Cave l from April 2013 to February 2014 (grant- GEFNE78–13). V.S. was supported by a scholarship from the Gates Cambridge Trust and M.G.L. by a BBSRC DTP studentship. C.G. was supported by the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) ERC Support Programme and the Marie-Curie Intra-European Fellowships (FP7-IEF-328024). R.M. was funded by the BEAN project of the Marie Curie ITN (289966) and L.C. by the Irish Research Council (GOIPG/2013/1219). R.L.M. was funded by the ALS Association of America (2284) and Fondation Thierry Latran (ALSIBD). M.C. was supported by Swiss NSF grant 31003A_156853. We acknowledge Shota Rusataveli Georgian National Science Foundation as well as the DJEI/DES/SFI/HEA Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) for the provision of computational facilities and Science Foundation Ireland (12/ERC/B2227) for provision of sequencing facilities. We thank Valeria Mattiangeli and Matthew D. Teasdale for their assistance.This is the final version of the article. It was first available from NPG via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms991

    Genome-scale sequencing and analysis of human, wolf, and bison DNA from 25,000-year-old sediment

    Get PDF
    Cave sediments have been shown to preserve ancient DNA but so far have not yielded the genome-scale information of skeletal remains. We retrieved and analyzed human and mammalian nuclear and mitochondrial environmental "shotgun" genomes from a single 25,000-year-old Upper Paleolithic sediment sample from Satsurblia cave, western Georgia:first, a human environmental genome with substantial basal Eurasian ancestry, which was an ancestral component of the majority of post-Ice Age people in the Near East, North Africa, and parts of Europe; second, a wolf environmental genome that is basal to extant Eurasian wolves and dogs and represents a previously unknown, likely extinct, Caucasian lineage; and third, a European bison environmental genome that is basal to present-day populations, suggesting that population structure has been substantially reshaped since the Last Glacial Maximum. Our results provide new insights into the Late Pleistocene genetic histories of these three species and demonstrate that direct shotgun sequencing of sediment DNA, without target enrichment methods, can yield genome-wide data informative of ancestry and phylogenetic relationships

    Middle to late Pleistocene shift in eolian silts contribution into Mediterranean soils at the fringe of the Negev loess, Israel

    No full text
    A common spatial feature within loess deposits worldwide is a downwind decrease in thickness and grain size, trends that are powerful tools for reconstructing paleowinds and past atmospheric circulation. Although such trends have been identified, there is limited knowledge of similar trends farther downwind from the loess region, where eolian influx can influence soil formation and hydrological processes. To examine these impacts we studied Quaternary sequences in prehistoric sites in Jerusalem, located only ∼50 km downwind from the edge of the Negev loess. All sequences are composed of two units separated by an unconformity. The lower unit is of middle Pleistocene age, it is composed of unimodal clay to silty clay dust deposits with chert clasts and Lower-Middle Paleolithic artifacts. A non-deposition interval characterized the middle to late Pleistocene transition, when dust accumulation rates were low. The upper unit age is late Pleistocene to Holocene; it is composed of bimodal silty clay to silty clay loam. Quartz, K-feldspars, and plagioclase contents together with the location and amplitude of grain-size coarse mode increase up-sequence. The addition of coarse silts to the upper unit of the sequences was coeval with episodes of loess accretion in the Negev. These silts were generated most likely by eolian abrasion of sand grains in the upwind dunes. Similar to the Negev, the addition of silts resulted in burial of the drainage network and reduced runoff and soil erosion rates. We stress the importance of desert loess in determining soil composition and surficial hydrology in wetter areas located in adjacent downwind regions

    Middle to late Pleistocene shift in eolian silts contribution into Mediterranean soils at the fringe of the Negev loess, Israel

    No full text
    A common spatial feature within loess deposits worldwide is a downwind decrease in thickness and grain size, trends that are powerful tools for reconstructing paleowinds and past atmospheric circulation. Although such trends have been identified, there is limited knowledge of similar trends farther downwind from the loess region, where eolian influx can influence soil formation and hydrological processes. To examine these impacts we studied Quaternary sequences in prehistoric sites in Jerusalem, located only ∼50 km downwind from the edge of the Negev loess. All sequences are composed of two units separated by an unconformity. The lower unit is of middle Pleistocene age, it is composed of unimodal clay to silty clay dust deposits with chert clasts and Lower-Middle Paleolithic artifacts. A non-deposition interval characterized the middle to late Pleistocene transition, when dust accumulation rates were low. The upper unit age is late Pleistocene to Holocene; it is composed of bimodal silty clay to silty clay loam. Quartz, K-feldspars, and plagioclase contents together with the location and amplitude of grain-size coarse mode increase up-sequence. The addition of coarse silts to the upper unit of the sequences was coeval with episodes of loess accretion in the Negev. These silts were generated most likely by eolian abrasion of sand grains in the upwind dunes. Similar to the Negev, the addition of silts resulted in burial of the drainage network and reduced runoff and soil erosion rates. We stress the importance of desert loess in determining soil composition and surficial hydrology in wetter areas located in adjacent downwind regions

    Mesolithic Hunters at Kotias Klde, Western Georgia: Preliminary Results

    No full text
    Abstract: The excavations at Kotias Klde, a karstic cave in the western region of the Republic of Georgia, uncovered a sequence of Neolithic layer topped by some Bronze Age remains (A1 and A2), a complex Mesolithic layer (B), and the top of layer C, tentatively recognized as late Upper Palaeolithic. The preliminary report describes the contents of the Mesolithic deposit with its particular industry, characterized by triangles of various shapes and a faunal assemblage of hunted brown bear, dated to 12,400-10,380 cal. BP.Résumé: Les fouilles conduites à Kotias Klde, une grotte karstique de l’Ouest de la Géorgie, ont permis de mettre au jour une séquence formée de quelques restes de l’âge du Bronze qui surmontent une séquence néolithique (A1 et A2), une couche complexe mésolithique (B) et le sommet d’une couche C, qui relèverait d’un Paléolithique supérieur tardif. Ce rapport préliminaire porte sur les assemblages du dépôt mésolithique daté de 12 400-10 380 cal. BP, dont l’industrie particulière se caractérise par des formes variées et par un assemblage faunique composé de restes de chasse à l’ours brun.Meshveliani Tengiz, Bar-Oz Guy, Bar-Yosef Ofer, Belfer-Cohen Anna, Boaretto Elisabetta, Jakeli Nino, Koridze Irakli, Matskevich Zinovi. Mesolithic Hunters at Kotias Klde, Western Georgia: Preliminary Results. In: Paléorient, 2007, vol. 33, n°2. pp. 47-58

    Dzudzuana: an Upper Palaeolithic cave site in the Caucasus foothills (Georgia)

    No full text
    The report announces the important radiocarbon-dated sequence recently obtained at Dzudzuana Cave in the southern Caucasus foothills. The first occupants here were modern humans, in c. 34.5-32.2 ka cal BP, and comparison with dated sequences on the northern slope of the Caucasus suggests that their arrival was rapid and widespread. The rich, well-dated assemblages of lithics, bone tools and a few art objects, coloured fibres, pollen and animal remains deposited at Dzudzuana through 20 millennia provide an invaluable point of reference for numerous other sites previously excavated in western Georgia. Detailed information has been placed in a supplementary excavation report online. The data support the significance of these excavations for a better understanding of modern human dispersals
    corecore