586 research outputs found
How does diet influence our lives? Evaluating the relationship between isotopic signatures and mortality patterns in italian roman imperial and medieval periods
The present research investigates the relationship between dietary habits and mortality patterns in the Roman Imperial and Medieval periods. The reconstructions of population dynamics and subsistence strategies provide a fascinating source of information for understanding our history. This is particularly true given that the changes in social, economic, political, and religious aspects related to the transition from the Roman period to the Middle Ages have been widely discussed. We analyzed the isotopic and mortality patterns of 616 individuals from 18 archeological sites (the Medieval Latium sites of Colonna, Santa Severa, Allumiere, Cencelle, and 14 Medieval and Imperial funerary contexts from Rome) to compile a survivorship analysis. A semi-parametric approach was applied, suggesting variations in mortality patterns between sexes in the Roman period. Nitrogen isotopic signatures influenced mortality in both periods, showing a quadratic and a linear effect for Roman Imperial and Medieval populations, respectively. No influence of carbon isotopic signatures has been detected for Roman Imperial populations. Conversely, increased mortality risk for rising carbon isotopic values was observed in Medieval samples
Bioarchaeological and palaeogenomic portrait of two Pompeians that died during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD
The archaeological site of Pompeii is one of the 54 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Italy, thanks to its
uniqueness: the town was completely destroyed and buried by a Vesuviusâ eruption in 79 AD. In this
work, we present a multidisciplinary approach with bioarchaeological and palaeogenomic analyses
of two Pompeian human remains from the Casa del Fabbro. We have been able to characterize the
genetic profle of the frst Pompeianâ genome, which has strong afnities with the surrounding
central Italian population from the Roman Imperial Age. Our fndings suggest that, despite the
extensive connection between Rome and other Mediterranean populations, a noticeable degree
of genetic homogeneity exists in the Italian peninsula at that time. Moreover, palaeopathological
analyses identifed the presence of spinal tuberculosis and we further investigated the presence of
ancient DNA from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In conclusion, our study demonstrates the power of
a combined approach to investigate ancient humans and confrms the possibility to retrieve ancient
DNA from Pompeii human remains. Our initial fndings provide a foundation to promote an intensive
and extensive paleogenetic analysis in order to reconstruct the genetic history of population from
Pompeii, a unique archaeological site
First glimpse into the genomic characterization of people from the imperial Roman community of Casal Bertone (Rome, firstâthird centuries AD)
This paper aims to provide a first glimpse into the genomic characterization of individuals buried in Casal Bertone (Rome, first-third centuries AD) to gain preliminary insight into the genetic makeup of people who lived near a tannery workshop, fullonica. Therefore, we explored the genetic characteristics of individuals who were putatively recruited as fuller workers outside the Roman population. Moreover, we identified the microbial communities associated with humans to detect microbes associated with the unhealthy environment supposed for such a workshop. We examined five individuals from Casal Bertone for ancient DNA analysis through whole-genome sequencing via a shotgun approach. We conducted multiple investigations to unveil the genetic components featured in the samples studied and their associated microbial communities. We generated reliable whole-genome data for three samples surviving the quality controls. The individuals were descendants of people from North African and the Near East, two of the main foci for tannery and dyeing activity in the past. Our evaluation of the microbes associated with the skeletal samples showed microbes growing in soils with waste products used in the tannery process, indicating that people lived, died, and were buried around places where they worked. In that perspective, the results represent the first genomic characterization of fullers from the past. This analysis broadens our knowledge about the presence of multiple ancestries in Imperial Rome, marking a starting point for future data integration as part of interdisciplinary research on human mobility and the bio-cultural characteristics of people employed in dedicated workshops
Uniparental lineages from the oldest indigenous population of Ecuador: the Tsachilas
Together with Cayapas, the Tsachilas constitute the oldest population in the country of
Ecuador and, according to some historians, they are the last descendants of the ancient Yumbos.
Several anthropological issues underlie the interest towards this peculiar population: the uncertainty
of their origin, their belonging to the Barbacoan linguistic family, which is still at the center
of an intense linguistic debate, and the relations of their Yumbo ancestors with the Inca invaders
who occupied their ancient territory. Our contribution to the knowledge of their complex past was
the reconstruction of their genetic maternal and paternal inheritance through the sequencing of 70
entire mitochondrial genomes and the characterization of the nonârecombinant region of the Y chromosome
in 26 males. For both markers, we built comprehensive datasets of various populations
from the surrounding geographical area, northwestern South America, NW, with a known linguistic
affiliation, and we could then compare our sample against the overall variability to infer relationships
with other Barbacoan people and with other NW natives. We found contrasting patterns
of genetic diversity for the two markers, but generally, our results indicated a possible common
origin between the Tsachilas, the Chachi, and other Ecuadorian and Colombian Barbacoans and are
suggestive of an interesting ancient linkage to the Inca invaders in Yumbo country
He or she? The Use of an Integrated Approach for Sex Determination in the Bioarcheological Research
This research aims to determine the sex of non-adult skeletal
remains from two archaeological sites dating to the Roman
Imperial and Medieval periods by using morphological, morphometrics
and molecular approaches. The determination of sex from non-adult remains is a debated issue in the literature even though it has important
implications in the palaeodemographic reconstruction of past populations.
Concordance between the different approaches was obtained in the 63% of cases (N=19). The
obtained results although preliminary are encouraging even though much research is needed
for enlarging the sample size and for applying the cutting-edge High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) technologies
He or she? The use of an integrated approach for sex determination in the bioarcheological research
This research aims to determine the sex of non-adult skeletal
remains from two archaeological sites dating to the Roman
Imperial and Medieval periods by using morphological, morphometrics
and molecular approaches. The determination of sex from non-adult remains is a debated issue in the literature even though it has important implications in the palaeodemographic reconstruction of past populations.
Concordance between the different approaches was obtained in the 63% of cases (N=19). The
obtained results although preliminary are encouraging even though much research is needed
for enlarging the sample size and for applying the cutting-edge High Throughput Sequencing
(HTS) technologies
Population differences in allele frequencies at the OLR1 locus may suggest geographic disparities in cardiovascular risk events.
Abstract
Background: Several studies have demonstrated a link between cardiovascular disease (CVD) susceptibility
and the genetic background of populations.
Endothelial activation and dysfunction induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) is one of
the key steps in the initiation of atherosclerosis. The oxidized low density lipoprotein (lectin-like)
receptor 1 (OLR1) gene is the main receptor of ox-LDL. We have previously characterized two
polymorphisms (rs3736235 and rs11053646) associated with the risk for coronary artery disease
(CAD) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
Aim: Given their clinical significance, it is of interest to know the distribution of these variants in
populations from different continents.
Subjects and methods: A total of 1229 individuals from 17 different African, Asian and European
populations was genotyped for the two considered markers.
Results: The high frequencies of ancestral alleles in South-Saharan populations is concordant with the
African origin of our species. The results highlight that African populations are closer to Asians, and
clearly separated from the Europeans.
Conclusion: The results confirm significant genetic structuring among populations and suggest a
possible basis for varying susceptibility to CVD among groups correlated with the geographical
location of populations linked with the migrations out of Africa, or with different lifestyle
Food at the heart of the Empire. Dietary reconstruction for Imperial Rome inhabitants
This paper aims to provide a broad diet reconstruction for people buried in archaeologically defined contexts in Rome (first to third centuries CE), in order to combine archaeological and biological evidence focusing on dietary preferences in Imperial Rome. A sample of 214 human bones recovered from 6 funerary contexts was selected for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. The baseline for the terrestrial protein component of the diet was set using 17 coeval faunal remains recovered from excavations at Rome supplemented by previously published data for the same geographic and chronological frames. ÎŽ13C ranges from â 19.9 to â 14.8â°, whereas ÎŽ15N values are between 7.2 and 10.0â°. The values are consistent with an overall diet mainly based on terrestrial resources. All the human samples rely on a higher trophic level than the primary consumer faunal samples. Certainly, C3 plants played a pivotal role in the dietary habits. However, C4 plants also seem to have been consumed, albeit they were not as widespread and were not always used for human consumption. The environment played a critical role also for Romans of lower social classes. The topographical location determined the preferential consumption of food that people could obtain from their neighborhood
16(th) IHIW: population global distribution of killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) and ligands.
In the last fifteen years, published reports have described KIR gene-content frequency distributions in more than 120 populations worldwide. However, there have been limited studies examining these data in aggregate to detect overall patterns of variation at regional and global levels. Here, we present a summary of the collection of KIR gene-content data for 105 worldwide populations collected as part of the 15th and 16th International Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Workshops, and preliminary results for data analysis
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