Dinamične prilagoditve mezolitskih pionirjev na območju Gotlanda ob Baltskem morju

Mesolithic pioneers reached Gotland around 9200 cal BP and adopted seal-hunting. The subsistence economy was flexible, and the importance of freshwater fish is reflected in the location of settlements and available stable isotope data. Overgrowing lakes provided an important subsistence base, and marine resources were mainly related to raw material needs. The narrower breadth of resources is reflected in the osseous production, where implements were made from seal bones. The lithic technology exhibits local adaptations over time – in the form of a simplification of the technology – that we relate to sedentism and increases in risk management and external networks.Mezolitski pionirji so dosegli Gotland ok. leta 9200 pr. n. št. in so prevzeli lov na tjulnje. Njihovo samooskrbno gospodarstvo je bilo prožno, pomen sladkovodnih rib pa se kaže tako v lokacijah naselbin kot podatkih o stabilnih izotopih. Zaraščena jezera so nudila pomembno osnovo preživetja in morski viri so bili predvsem povezani s potrebo po surovinah. Slabše dostopni visi se kažejo v produkciji kostnih izdelkov, ki so bili izdelani iz tjulnjevih kosti. Kamnita orodja pa kažejo lokalne prilagoditve skozi čas – v obliki poenostavljanja tehnologije –, ki jih povezujemo s stalnim načinom življenja in povečanjem upravljanja tveganj ter zunanjih omrežij

Sealing Economy : Exploring seals as resources in the Åland Islands ca. 1100-1700 CE through zooarchaeology and account books

Peer reviewe

Barking up the wrong tree: Modern northern European dogs fail to explain their origin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Geographic distribution of the genetic diversity in domestic animals, particularly mitochondrial DNA, has often been used to infer centers of domestication. The underlying presumption is that phylogeographic patterns among domesticates were established during, or shortly after the domestication. Human activities are assumed not to have altered the haplogroup frequencies to any great extent. We studied this hypothesis by analyzing 24 mtDNA sequences in ancient Scandinavian dogs. Breeds originating in northern Europe are characterized by having a high frequency of mtDNA sequences belonging to a haplogroup rare in other populations (HgD). This has been suggested to indicate a possible origin of the haplogroup (perhaps even a separate domestication) in central or northern Europe.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The sequences observed in the ancient samples do not include the haplogroup indicative for northern European breeds (HgD). Instead, several of them correspond to haplogroups that are uncommon in the region today and that are supposed to have Asian origin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We find no evidence for local domestication. We conclude that interpretation of the processes responsible for current domestic haplogroup frequencies should be carried out with caution if based only on contemporary data. They do not only tell their own story, but also that of humans.</p

Mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomal diversity in ancient populations of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) in Finland : comparison with contemporary sheep breeds

201

The Neolithic Pitted Ware culture foragers were culturally but not genetically influenced by the Battle Axe culture herders

Abstract: Objectives: In order to understand contacts between cultural spheres in the third millennium BC, we investigated the impact of a new herder culture, the Battle Axe culture, arriving to Scandinavia on the people of the sub-Neolithic hunter-gatherer Pitted Ware culture. By investigating the genetic make-up of Pitted Ware culture people from two types of burials (typical Pitted Ware culture burials and Battle Axe culture-influenced burials), we could determine the impact of migration and the impact of cultural influences. Methods: We sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 25 individuals from typical Pitted Ware culture burials and from Pitted Ware culture burials with Battle Axe culture influences in order to determine if the different burial types were associated with different gene-pools. Results: The genomic data show that all individuals belonged to one genetic population—a population associated with the Pitted Ware culture—irrespective of the burial style. Conclusion: We conclude that the Pitted Ware culture communities were not impacted by gene-flow, that is, via migration or exchange of mates. These different cultural expressions in the Pitted Ware culture burials are instead a consequence of cultural exchange

Genomic and strontium isotope variation reveal immigration patterns in a Viking Age town

The impact of human mobility on the northern European urban populations during the Viking and Early Middle Ages and its repercussions in Scandinavia itself are still largely unexplored. Our study of the demographics in the final phase of the Viking era is the first comprehensive multidisciplinary investigation that includes genetics, isotopes, archaeology, and osteology on a larger scale. This early Christian dataset is particularly important as the earlier common pagan burial tradition during the Iron Age was cremation, hindering large-scale DNA analyses. We present genome-wide sequence data from 23 individuals from the 10th to 12th century Swedish town of Sigtuna. The data revealed high genetic diversity among the early urban residents. The observed variation exceeds the genetic diversity in distinct modern-day and Iron Age groups of central and northern Europe. Strontium isotope data suggest mixed local and non-local origin of the townspeople. Our results uncover the social system underlying the urbanization process of the Viking World of which mobility was an intricate part and was comparable between males and females. The inhabitants of Sigtuna were heterogeneous in their genetic affinities, probably reflecting both close and distant connections through an established network, confirming that early urbanization processes in northern Europe were driven by migration

Genetic continuity, isolation, and gene flow in Stone Age Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract The genomic landscape of Stone Age Europe was shaped by multiple migratory waves and population replacements, but different regions do not all show the same patterns. To refine our understanding of the population dynamics before and after the dawn of the Neolithic, we generated and analyzed genomic sequence data from human remains of 56 individuals from the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Eneolithic across Central and Eastern Europe. We found that Mesolithic European populations formed a geographically widespread isolation-by-distance zone ranging from Central Europe to Siberia, which was already established 10 000 years ago. We also found contrasting patterns of population continuity during the Neolithic transition: people around the lower Dnipro Valley region, Ukraine, showed continuity over 4 000 years, from the Mesolithic to the end of Neolithic, in contrast to almost all other parts of Europe where population turnover drove this cultural change, including vast areas of Central Europe and around the Danube River