Stable population structure in Europe since the Iron Age, despite high mobility

Ancient DNA research in the past decade has revealed that European population structure changed dramatically in the prehistoric period (14,000–3000 years before present, YBP), reflecting the widespread introduction of Neolithic farmer and Bronze Age Steppe ancestries. However, little is known about how population structure changed from the historical period onward (3000 YBP - present). To address this, we collected whole genomes from 204 individuals from Europe and the Mediterranean, many of which are the first historical period genomes from their region (e.g. Armenia and France). We found that most regions show remarkable inter-individual heterogeneity. At least 7% of historical individuals carry ancestry uncommon in the region where they were sampled, some indicating cross-Mediterranean contacts. Despite this high level of mobility, overall population structure across western Eurasia is relatively stable through the historical period up to the present, mirroring geography. We show that, under standard population genetics models with local panmixia, the observed level of dispersal would lead to a collapse of population structure. Persistent population structure thus suggests a lower effective migration rate than indicated by the observed dispersal. We hypothesize that this phenomenon can be explained by extensive transient dispersal arising from drastically improved transportation networks and the Roman Empire’s mobilization of people for trade, labor, and military. This work highlights the utility of ancient DNA in elucidating finer scale human population dynamics in recent history

A genetic history of the Balkans from Roman frontier to Slavic migrations

[Summary] The rise and fall of the Roman Empire was a socio-political process with enormous ramifications for human history. The Middle Danube was a crucial frontier and a crossroads for population and cultural movement. Here, we present genome-wide data from 136 Balkan individuals dated to the 1st millennium CE. Despite extensive militarization and cultural influence, we find little ancestry contribution from peoples of Italic descent. However, we trace a large-scale influx of people of Anatolian ancestry during the Imperial period. Between ∼250 and 550 CE, we detect migrants with ancestry from Central/Northern Europe and the Steppe, confirming that “barbarian” migrations were propelled by ethnically diverse confederations. Following the end of Roman control, we detect the large-scale arrival of individuals who were genetically similar to modern Eastern European Slavic-speaking populations, who contributed 30%–60% of the ancestry of Balkan people, representing one of the largest permanent demographic changes anywhere in Europe during the Migration Period.We thank the funding agencies for this study: PGC2018-0955931-B-100 grant (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE) of the Spanish Ministry of Science of Innovation (C.L.-F.), PID2021-124590NB-100 grant of the Spanish Ministry of Science of Innovation (C.L.-F.), fellowship from “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434), code LCF/BQ-ES11/10000073 (I.O.), grant “Ayudas para contratos Ramón y Cajal” funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ESF Investing in your future” (I.O.), FPI-2019 (Spanish Ministry of Science of Innovation, BDNS ID: 476421) (P.C.), NSERC Discovery grant (Canada) RGPIN-2018-05989 (M.G.), Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia (grant 533-03-19-0002) (M.N.), National Institutes of Health funding (HG012287) (D.R.), John Templeton Foundation (grant 61220) (D.R.), gifts from J.-F. Clin (D.R. and I.O.), the Allen Discovery Center, a Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group advised program of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation (D.R.), and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (D.R.).Peer reviewe

The genetic history of the Southern Arc: a bridge between West Asia and Europe

By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southeastern Europe and West Asia) over 10,000 years, we contextualize its Chalcolithic period and Bronze Age (about 5000 to 1000 BCE), when extensive gene flow entangled it with the Eurasian steppe. Two streams of migration transmitted Caucasus and Anatolian/Levantine ancestry northward, and the Yamnaya pastoralists, formed on the steppe, then spread southward into the Balkans and across the Caucasus into Armenia, where they left numerous patrilineal descendants. Anatolia was transformed by intra–West Asian gene flow, with negligible impact of the later Yamnaya migrations. This contrasts with all other regions where Indo-European languages were spoken, suggesting that the homeland of the Indo-Anatolian language family was in West Asia, with only secondary dispersals of non-Anatolian Indo-Europeans from the steppe

A FileMaker Pro database for use in the recording of Commingled and/or Fragmentary Human Remains

Commingled and fragmentary remains are found in numerous contexts worldwide. These assemblages typically require large scale, long term study to fully extract and contextualize meaningful data. However, when uncovered in CRM and foreign settings where remains cannot leave their country of origin, there is a need for quick, reliable data collection. Presented here is a recording system for use in field- and research-based laboratory settings. Utilizing visual forms and a minimal set of observations for skeletal elements from the cranium to the foot, the database facilitates data collection of fragment identification, age at death and sex estimation, dental observations, trauma recording, and taphonomic observations. A data dictionary is also provided, with definitions and value lists used in the database itself. The database has been used in field labs throughout the old world and by numerous researchers who have modified it to meet their own research needs. By presenting a minimal standard of data in a highly adaptable database, the recording system described here provides consistent baseline data in a user-friendly, quick-access format

Magnetic field measurements in laser-produced plasmas via proton deflectometry

Large magnetic fields generated during laser-matter interaction at irradiances of similar to 5 X 10(14) W cm(-2) have been measured using a deflectometry technique employing MeV laser-accelerated protons. Azimuthal magnetic fields were identified unambiguously via a characteristic proton deflection pattern and found to have an amplitude of similar to 45 T in the outer coronal region. Comparison with magnetohydrodynamic simulations confirms that in this regime the (del) over right arrowT(e) X (del) over right arrown(e) source is the main field generation mechanism, while additional terms are negligible. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3097899

Applying the Index of Care to the Mississippian Period: A Case Study of Treponematosis, Physical Impairment, and Probable Health-Related Caregiving From the Holliston Mills Site, TN

Bioarchaeologists and palaeopathologists have recently turned their attention towards one critical aspect of the study of the history of disease: health-related caregiving. In response, an approach, the bioarchaeology of care, and, within it, the web-based Index of Care (IoC) have been developed to enable the identification and interpretation of past caregiving. Here, we apply the IoC to Burial 86, a young adult (18–25 years) female from the late Mississippian period, Dallas cultural phase Holliston Mills site (40HW11; ca. ad 1348–1535), TN. Burial 86 exhibits pathologies specific to treponematosis. They also exhibit a suite of pathologies indicative of physical impairment, including a varus angular deformity in the right tibia that is potentially the result of a malaligned pathological fracture. Following the IoC, we determine that Burial 86 probably experienced moderate clinical impacts on several domains (e.g., musculoskeletal system) with various functional impacts on essential activities of daily living. This means that Burial 86 likely had a disability and likely received caregiving, though it is impossible to determine if the care was efficacious. That care was provided likely reflected the community of Holliston Mills\u27 more egalitarian socio-political structure, which was unusual for the late Mississippian. It may also reflect Burial 86\u27s agency, the presence of adequate resources at the site, as indicated by high frequencies of high status mortuary artifacts, or a combination of these factors. The mortuary program for Burial 86 does not indicate that they were marked as being different—in status or other social categories—than other community members. This study highlights how bioarchaeological evidence can be used to explore the downstream effects of chronic infections, such as treponematosis, throughout the body and across the life course, and the opportunities for health-related caregiving in past societies that these processes can potentially create