115 research outputs found
Dairying, diseases and the evolution of lactase persistence in Europe
Update notice Author Correction: Dairying, diseases and the evolution of lactase persistence in Europe (Nature, (2022), 608, 7922, (336-345), 10.1038/s41586-022-05010-7) Nature, Volume 609, Issue 7927, Pages E9, 15 September 2022In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence (LP) is the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved over the past 10,000 years(1). Although the selection of LP and the consumption of prehistoric milk must be linked, considerable uncertainty remains concerning their spatiotemporal configuration and specific interactions(2,3). Here we provide detailed distributions of milk exploitation across Europe over the past 9,000 years using around 7,000 pottery fat residues from more than 550 archaeological sites. European milk use was widespread from the Neolithic period onwards but varied spatially and temporally in intensity. Notably, LP selection varying with levels of prehistoric milk exploitation is no better at explaining LP allele frequency trajectoriesthan uniform selection since the Neolithic period. In the UK Biobank(4,5) cohort of 500,000 contemporary Europeans, LP genotype was only weakly associated with milk consumption and did not show consistent associations with improved fitness or health indicators. This suggests that other reasons for the beneficial effects of LP should be considered for its rapid frequency increase. We propose that lactase non-persistent individuals consumed milk when it became available but, under conditions of famine and/or increased pathogen exposure, this was disadvantageous, driving LP selection in prehistoric Europe. Comparison of model likelihoods indicates that population fluctuations, settlement density and wild animal exploitation-proxies for these drivers-provide better explanations of LP selection than the extent of milk exploitation. These findings offer new perspectives on prehistoric milk exploitation and LP evolution.Peer reviewe
Discovery of an underwater deposit of Neolithic polished axeheads and a submerged stone alignment at Petit Rohu near Saint-Pierre-Quiberon (Morbihan, France),
International audiencedépÎt de quatre haches en jades alpin
Pietre sotto il cielo e asce sotto il mare
dépÎt de haches en jades et Mont Vis
Clairvaux et le "NĂ©olithique Moyen Bourguignon"
International audienceClairvaux constitue une nouvelle rĂ©fĂ©rence pour le NĂ©olithique au nord-ouest des Alpes, en raison dâune extraordinaire conservation des vestiges datĂ©s de la premiĂšre moitiĂ© du IVe millĂ©naire av. J.-C. La comparaison des cĂ©ramiques de Clairvaux avec celles des rĂ©gions voisines montre ainsi â dans un systĂšme dâagriculture itinĂ©rante â la complexitĂ© des relations dâĂ©change avec le Cortaillod classique, le NĂ©olithique moyen II de Bourgogne et le Munzingen. Ces donnĂ©es remettent en cause le concept de « NĂ©olithique Moyen Bourguignon », une construction thĂ©orique des annĂ©es 1980 qui regroupait des traditions cĂ©ramiques dont les origines et les trajectoires historiques sâavĂšrent aujourdâhui inconciliables
Du Mont Viso au golfe de Tarente à la transition V-IVe millénaires : la hache en jadéitite de Laterza (Puglia, Italie)
International audienc
The Breamore jadeitite axehead and other neolithic axeheads of Alpine rock from Central Southern England
National audienc
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