Bronze Age population dynamics and the rise of dairy pastoralism on the eastern Eurasian steppe

Recent paleogenomic studies have shown that migrations of Western steppe herders (WSH) beginning in the Eneolithic (ca. 3300-2700 BCE) profoundly transformed the genes and cultures of Europe and central Asia. Compared with Europe, however, the eastern extent of this WSH expansion is not well defined. Here we present genomic and proteomic data from 22 directly dated Late Bronze Age burials putatively associated with early pastoralism in northern Mongolia (ca. 1380-975 BCE). Genome-wide analysis reveals that they are largely descended from a population represented by Early Bronze Age hunter-gatherers in the Baikal region, with only a limited contribution (∼7%) of WSH ancestry. At the same time, however, mass spectrometry analysis of dental calculus provides direct protein evidence of bovine, sheep, and goat milk consumption in seven of nine individuals. No individuals showed molecular evidence of lactase persistence, and only one individual exhibited evidence of >10% WSH ancestry, despite the presence of WSH populations in the nearby Altai-Sayan region for more than a millennium. Unlike the spread of Neolithic farming in Europe and the expansion of Bronze Age pastoralism on the Western steppe, our results indicate that ruminant dairy pastoralism was adopted on the Eastern steppe by local hunter-gatherers through a process of cultural transmission and minimal genetic exchange with outside groups

Analysis Of Human Cremains

This chapter provides a detailed overview of the contemporary cremation process that begins with a human body and ends with a small volume of inorganic matter that can fit in a small box or an urn. The various methods that cremation analysts have traditionally used to analyse cremated remains are discussed first. Next, the potential of using chemical methods that help to answer some basic questions about the elemental make-up and basic properties of cremated bones and teeth are explored. The use of chemical methods for elemental analysis is now considered to be a regular step when analysing cremains. In particular, chemical techniques can answer some basic questions about the composition of cremains that cannot be determined from gross and microscopic methods alone. For example, this method can be used to determine whether the disputed cremains comprise bones or a foreign material that was substituted for the cremains. Additionally, chemical methods may provide the only supporting evidence for the identification of cremains by detecting elevated levels of normal minor elements found in bone tissue or the presence of rare trace elements that were acquired during the decedent\u27s life

Analysis Of Human Cremains: Gross And Chemical Methods

This chapter provides a detailed overview of the contemporary cremation process that begins with a human body and ends with a volume of inorganic matter that can fit in a small box or an urn. It discusses various methods that cremation analysts have traditionally used to analyze cremated remains. The chapter also explores the potential of using chemical methods that help to answer some basic questions about the elemental make-up and basic properties of cremated bones and teeth. The use of chemical methods for elemental analysis is now considered to be a regular step when analyzing cremains. In particular, chemical techniques can answer some basic questions about the composition of cremains that cannot be answered from gross and microscopic methods alone. Chemical methods can be used to determine whether the disputed cremains are comprised of bones or a foreign material that was substituted for the cremains. Chemical methods may provide the only supporting evidence for the identification of cremains by detecting elevated levels of normal minor elements found in bone tissue or the presence of rare trace elements that were acquired during the decedent\u27s life. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved