DATING THE MYANMAR BRONZE AGE: PRELIMINARY 14C DATES FROM THE OAKAIE 1 CEMETERY NEAR NYAUNG’GAN

Since 2014 the Mission Archéologique Française au Myanmar has been excavating a prehistoric cemetery, Oakaie 1, adjacent to the famous Nyaung’gan Bronze Age cemetery in Sagaing Division. Oakaie 1 (OAI1) was selected as a Nyaung’gan proxy in order to better understand the Neolithic-Bronze Age-Iron Age chronological transitions in upper-central Myanmar, for eventual regional-scale synthesis. An initial attempt to AMS 14C date 13 human femurs failed due to a lack of collagen but a subsequent effort using an apatite dating methodology on 5 femurs was successful. These preliminary data bracket part of the cemetery from the 9th to 6th c. BC with a 4th-3rd c. BC outlier. Typological and technological analogies between OAI1 and Nyaung’gan pottery grave goods likewise suggest an early 1st millennium BC date for the local Bronze Age

A partial prehistory of the Southwest Silk Road: Archaeometallurgical networks along the sub-Himalayan corridor

Historical phenomena often have prehistoric precedents, with this paper we investigate the potential for archaeometallurgical analyses and networked data processing to elucidate the progenitors of the Southwest Silk Road in Mainland Southeast Asia and southern China. We present original microstructural, elemental and lead isotope data for 40 archaeological copperbase metal samples, mostly from the UNESCO-listed site of Halin, and lead isotope data for 25 geological copper-mineral samples, also from Myanmar. We combined these data with existing datasets (N=98 total) and compared them to the 1000+ sample late prehistoric archaeometallurgical database available from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan. Lead isotope data, contextualised for alloy, find location and date, were interpreted manually for intra-site, inter-site and inter-regional consistency, which hint at significant multi-scalar connectivity from the late 2nd millennium BC. To test this interpretation statistically, the archaeological lead isotope data were then processed using regionally-adapted productionderived consistency parameters. Complex networks analysis using the Leiden community detection algorithm established groups of artefacts sharing lead isotopic consistency. Introducing the geographic component allowed for the identification of communities of sites with consistent assemblages. The four major communities were consistent with the manually interpreted exchange networks and suggest southern sections of the Southwest Silk Road were active in the late 2nd millennium BC

Les pratiques funéraires de la fin du Néolithique à l’âge du Bronze de la partie centrale du Myanmar (c. 1300-500 cal BC) : définitions et évolutions

En Asie du Sud-est continentale, la fin de la préhistoire est surtout définie à travers l’étude des sites funéraires. Les données disponibles jusqu’à présent concernent presque essentiellement la partie sud et est de la péninsule indochinoise, représentée par le Viet Nam et la Thaïlande. Le Myanmar pâtit d’un état de la recherche beaucoup moins favorable. Pourtant son emplacement est crucial. Il est le seul territoire d’Asie du Sud-est à partager des frontières terrestres avec l’Inde et la Ch..

Genome analysis of the necrotrophic fungal pathogens Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea are closely related necrotrophic plant pathogenic fungi notable for their wide host ranges and environmental persistence. These attributes have made these species models for understanding the complexity of necrotrophic, broad host-range pathogenicity. Despite their similarities, the two species differ in mating behaviour and the ability to produce asexual spores. We have sequenced the genomes of one strain of S. sclerotiorum and two strains of B. cinerea. The comparative analysis of these genomes relative to one another and to other sequenced fungal genomes is provided here. Their 38–39 Mb genomes include 11,860–14,270 predicted genes, which share 83% amino acid identity on average between the two species. We have mapped the S. sclerotiorum assembly to 16 chromosomes and found large-scale co-linearity with the B. cinerea genomes. Seven percent of the S. sclerotiorum genome comprises transposable elements compared t

Genomic Analysis of the Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea are closely related necrotrophic plant pathogenic fungi notable for their wide host ranges and environmental persistence. These attributes have made these species models for understanding the complexity of necrotrophic, broad host-range pathogenicity. Despite their similarities, the two species differ in mating behaviour and the ability to produce asexual spores. We have sequenced the genomes of one strain of S. sclerotiorum and two strains of B. cinerea. The comparative analysis of these genomes relative to one another and to other sequenced fungal genomes is provided here. Their 38–39 Mb genomes include 11,860–14,270 predicted genes, which share 83% amino acid identity on average between the two species. We have mapped the S. sclerotiorum assembly to 16 chromosomes and found large-scale co-linearity with the B. cinerea genomes. Seven percent of the S. sclerotiorum genome comprises transposable elements compared to <1% of B. cinerea. The arsenal of genes associated with necrotrophic processes is similar between the species, including genes involved in plant cell wall degradation and oxalic acid production. Analysis of secondary metabolism gene clusters revealed an expansion in number and diversity of B. cinerea–specific secondary metabolites relative to S. sclerotiorum. The potential diversity in secondary metabolism might be involved in adaptation to specific ecological niches. Comparative genome analysis revealed the basis of differing sexual mating compatibility systems between S. sclerotiorum and B. cinerea. The organization of the mating-type loci differs, and their structures provide evidence for the evolution of heterothallism from homothallism. These data shed light on the evolutionary and mechanistic bases of the genetically complex traits of necrotrophic pathogenicity and sexual mating. This resource should facilitate the functional studies designed to better understand what makes these fungi such successful and persistent pathogens of agronomic crops

Late Prehistoric funerary archaeology of the central Myanmar region (Burma)

Les sociétés de la fin de la Préhistoire de la région sud-est asiatique continentale sont principalement connues par leurs vestiges funéraires. Ces connaissances, largement fragmentées, présentent des lacunes importantes. Le Myanmar qui représente la partie ouest de la région demeure largement méconnu. Cette thèse se base sur des données nouvelles obtenues sur cinq sites funéraires du centre du Myanmar allant du Néolithique à la période Historique. Ces sites, fouillés entre 2014 et 2019 avec la Mission Archéologique Française au Myanmar (dir. T.O. Pryce), sont les premiers à avoir fait l’objet d’analyses des ossements en laboratoire. Nous avons défini l’identité biologique des inhumés du Néolithique, de l’Âge du Bronze et de l’Âge du Fer, les pratiques funéraires qui leur ont été octroyées et la chronologie relative de ces sites. Une approche du mode de vie et de la mobilité des inhumés a été engagée via des méthodes classiques et des méthodes moins souvent appliquées à ces contextes, comme l’analyse texturale de la micro usure dentaire (DMTA) et l’étude des isotopes du strontium. Les paramètres biologiques de ces populations ont pu être étudiés et comparés aux données bioarchéologiques disponibles pour l’Asie du Sud-Est continentale. L’analyse du recrutement funéraire permet d’approcher une réalité encore méconnue des cultures archéologiques de la région. Nos résultats indiquent que le Myanmar présente une évolution culturelle similaire à la Thaïlande. Le centre du Myanmar, loin d’être isolé, est compris dans la sphère d’interaction culturelle de l’Asie du Sud-Est et présente des liens culturels et populationnels avec le nord de la péninsule, le Yunnan notamment, dont l’étude demande à être approfondie.The late prehistoric societies of mainland Southeast Asia are known mainly through their funerary remains. This knowledge is largely fragmentary and has significant gaps. Myanmar, which represents the western part of the region, remains largely unknown.This thesis is based on new data obtained from five burial sites in central Myanmar that span a chronological interval from the Neolithic to the Historic period. These sites, excavated between 2014 and 2019 with the French Archaeological Mission to Myanmar (dir. T.O. Pryce), are the first to have been subjected to laboratory analysis of the bones. We have defined the biological identity of the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age burials, the burial practices they were granted and the relative chronology of these sites. An approach to the lifestyle and mobility of the buried was undertaken via classical methods and methods less often applied to these contexts, such as dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) and strontium isotope studies. The biological parameters of these populations could be studied and compared with the bioarchaeological data available for continental Southeast Asia. The analysis of funerary recruitment allows us to approach a reality that is still unknown in the archaeological cultures of the region. Our results indicate that Myanmar presents a cultural sequence compatible with the available data, notably from Thailand. The centre of Myanmar, far from being isolated, is included in the sphere of cultural interaction of Southeast Asia and presents cultural and population links with the north of the region, Yunnan in particular. Investigating this latter avenue requires further studies

Des morts aux vivants, l’occultation du funéraire en Asie du Sud-Est

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Myanmar funerary archaeology in a regional perspective

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Living in the Dry Zone: Stable Isotope Insights Into Palaeodiet in Ancient Myanmar

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