Genomic palaeoparasitology traced the occurrence of Taenia asiatica in ancient Iran (Sassanid Empire, 2th cent. CE-6th cent. CE)

Palaeoparasitology investigates parasitological infections in animals and humans of past distance by examining biological remains. Palaeofaeces (or coprolites) are biological remains that provide valuable information on the disease, diet, and population movements in ancient times. Today, advances in detecting ancient DNA have cast light on dark corners that microscopy could never reach. The archaeological site of the Chehrabad salt mine of Achaemenid (550-330 BC) and Sassanid (third-seventh century AD) provides remains of various biotic and abiotic samples, including animal coprolites, for multidisciplinary studies. In the present work, we investigated coprolites for helminth eggs and larvae by microscopy and traced their biological agents' DNA by Next Generation Sequencing. Our results revealed various helminths, including Taenia asiatica, the species introduced in the 1990s. Implementing advanced modern molecular techniques like NGS gives a paramount view of pathogenic agents in space and time

The Economy of Dürrnberg-Bei-Hallein: An Iron Age Salt-mining Centre in the Austrian Alps

For the first time in English, we present a summary of the international programme of excavation work carried out between 1990 and 2001 in and around the Iron Age salt-mining complex of the Diirrnberg region, south of Salzburg. First we describe the results of excavation in the prehistoric adits, and of work to locate and survey associated settlements. This is followed by a series of specialist reports embracing floral and faunal remains, palaeodiet and parasitology, leather and woodworking and other crafts. The evidence suggests that a complex inter-relationship existed between the Diirrnberg and other communities in the Alpine foreland. It is assumed that the Diirrnberg was under the control of an elite - perhaps a local dynasty whose wealth is reflected in the grave

Exceptional ancient DNA preservation and fibre remains of a Sasanian saltmine sheep mummy in Chehrābād, Iran

Funder: FP7 Ideas: European Research Council; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011199; Grant(s): 295729-CodeXMummified remains have long attracted interest as a potential source of ancient DNA. However, mummification is a rare process that requires an anhydrous environment to rapidly dehydrate and preserve tissue before complete decomposition occurs. We present the whole-genome sequences (3.94 X) of an approximately 1600-year-old naturally mummified sheep recovered from Chehrābād, a salt mine in northwestern Iran. Comparative analyses of published ancient sequences revealed the remarkable DNA integrity of this mummy. Hallmarks of postmortem damage, fragmentation and hydrolytic deamination are substantially reduced, likely owing to the high salinity of this taphonomic environment. Metagenomic analyses reflect the profound influence of high-salt content on decomposition; its microbial profile is predominated by halophilic archaea and bacteria, possibly contributing to the remarkable preservation of the sample. Applying population genomic analyses, we find clustering of this sheep with Southwest Asian modern breeds, suggesting ancestry continuity. Genotyping of a locus influencing the woolly phenotype showed the presence of an ancestral ‘hairy’ allele, consistent with hair fibre imaging. This, along with derived alleles associated with the fat-tail phenotype, provides genetic evidence that Sasanian-period Iranians maintained specialized sheep flocks for different uses, with the ‘hairy’, ‘fat-tailed’-genotyped sheep likely kept by the rural community of Chehrābād's miners

What is an Ore Deposit? Approaches from Geoscience and Archaeology in Understanding the Usage of Deposits

Metallogenic ore deposits can be construed and understood in different ways: it is easy for archaeologists and historians to  oversimplify the mineralogical complexity of an ore deposit when conceptualising deposits as deliverers of raw materials such as copper or gold. Deposits are most of the time not monometallic; rather they are a mixture of various minerals that can  significantly influence the metallic end products. Provenance data are often critically discussed on the basis of the explanatory value of ore mineralogy; however, archaeometallurgists may describe the complex mineralogical and chemical composition on a highly detailed level, disregarding the question of relevancy to the understanding of early societies, who tended to understand their environment on more empirical and practical levels. Archaeological theories are too often developed without regarding the specific quality of archaeometrical record, which needs detailed discussion about its quality and information value. Intense communication and close cooperation of specialists from diverse academic and scientific backgrounds are key in taking the study of metal resources forward.

Economic Geology, Mining Archaeological and Archaeometric Investigations at the Veshnaveh Ancient Copper Mine, Central Iran

The Veshnaveh ancient copper mine is located in the middle of the Orumieh-Dokhtar volcanic belt in north central Iran and is hosted  by middle-upper Eocene volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The focus of this paper is the investigation of ore and rock samples from Veshnaveh using diverse geochemical and mineralogical methods including ore microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and lead isotope analysis in order to better understand the nature of mineralization. The results were then compared with the results from the ancient metallurgical relics from some key sites in central Iran including Tappeh Sialk, Arismān, Tappeh Sarm and Jamkarān. The results show the Veshnaveh deposit is a Manto type mineralization whose ore has been possibly used from the Middle Bronze Age until the early Iron Age by surrounding communities.&nbsp

On Salt, Copper and Gold. The story behind shepherds, metallurgists and miners in the first mining enterprises of the Caucasus

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Welding a New Approach to the Study of Ancient Metals

Two communities have emerged in archaeometallurgy: the archaeologists, largely educated in the humanities, and the material scientists. Killick (2015; Pearce, 2016) has illustrated the non-communication and mutual lack of interest in the debates between the two traditions, one focused on the social and symbolic aspects of metalwork, the other interested in techniques of analysis and chemical and mineralogical processes. This session aims to build bridges the two approaches, encouraging collaborative research goals, and thereby to fuse the two in a new understanding

Social Practice and the Exchange of Metals and Metallurgical Knowledge in 2nd Millennium Central Asia

The current article discusses the Bronze Age metal evidence in Central Asia based on a vast study of metals of Kazakh origin in order to better understand what Chernykh once called the West-Asian-Metallurgical Province (WAMP). Based on typological studies it became obvious that typologies do not sufficiently help to understand the distribution patterns of Bronze Age metals in regard to their social  nor their economic background. The authors therefore propose an anthropological and theoretical approach that allows the  exploration of the practice of exchange within steppe communities based on provenance studies of metals using elemental and Pb-isotope data. These data have been analysed within a research project carried out with Kazakhstan partners between 2004 and 2014.  For the first time, a selection of data are presented that support some of the general interpretations of exchange modes between the  Petrovka Early Bronze Age and the Late Bronze Age. Especially during the second millennium, it seems that the exchange pattern of  metals had changed from single high valued items to a larger scale trade, which included metal transport as well. It is suggested that  although the practice of exchange modes between the steppe communities change to larger scale metal exchange during the 2nd half  of the 2nd millennium BC, most of the social background still remained similar in comparison to the earlier periods.

Welding a New Approach to the Study of Ancient Metals

Two communities have emerged in archaeometallurgy: the archaeologists, largely educated in the humanities, and the material scientists. Killick (2015; Pearce, 2016) has illustrated the non-communication and mutual lack of interest in the debates between the two traditions, one focused on the social and symbolic aspects of metalwork, the other interested in techniques of analysis and chemical and mineralogical processes. This session aims to build bridges the two approaches, encouraging collaborative research goals, and thereby to fuse the two in a new understanding

Radiological findings in an ancient Iranian salt mummy (Chehrābād ca. 410-350 BC)

OBJECTIVE To study pathologies, peri- and postmortal alterations as well as the general preservation state of an ancient Iranian salt mummy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Several mummified remains from two different time periods (1500-2500 BP) were found in the Chehrābād salt mine in Iran. Computed tomography was performed on Salt Man #4 (410-350 BC), the best preserved out of the six salt mummies (Siemens, Sensation 16; 512 × 512 matrix; 0.75-5 mm slice thickness, 240-mA tube current, 120-kV tube voltage, and 0.976-mm pixel size). RESULTS Radiological analyses showed an excellent state of preservation of an adolescent body. Several normal variants such as aplasia of the frontal sinus as well as a rare congenital deformation of the 5th vertebral body (butterfly vertebra) have been observed. The individual shows multiple fractures, which is consistent with the theory that he died due to a collapse in the ancient salt mine. CONCLUSIONS The salt preserved the soft tissue as well as parts of the inner organs remarkably well. However, further investigations including histology are needed to reveal additional details of the health status of this unique salt mummy