Genetic Continuity of Bronze Age Ancestry with Increased Steppe-Related Ancestry in Late Iron Age Uzbekistan

Although Uzbekistan and Central Asia are known for the well-studied Bronze Age civilization of the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC), the lesser-known Iron Age was also a dynamic period that resulted in increased interaction and admixture among different cultures from this region. To broaden our understanding of events that impacted the demography and population structure of this region, we generated 27 genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism capture data sets of Late Iron Age individuals around the Historical Kushan time period (∼2100–1500 BP) from three sites in South Uzbekistan. Overall, Bronze Age ancestry persists into the Iron Age in Uzbekistan, with no major replacements of populations with Steppe-related ancestry. However, these individuals suggest diverse ancestries related to Iranian farmers, Anatolian farmers, and Steppe herders, with a small amount of West European Hunter Gatherer, East Asian, and South Asian Hunter Gatherer ancestry as well. Genetic affinity toward the Late Bronze Age Steppe herders and a higher Steppe-related ancestry than that found in BMAC populations suggest an increased mobility and interaction of individuals from the Northern Steppe in a Southward direction. In addition, a decrease of Iranian and an increase of Anatolian farmer-like ancestry in Uzbekistan Iron Age individuals were observed compared with the BMAC populations from Uzbekistan. Thus, despite continuity from the Bronze Age, increased admixture played a major role in the shift from the Bronze to the Iron Age in southern Uzbekistan. This mixed ancestry is also observed in other parts of the Steppe and Central Asia, suggesting more widespread admixture among local populations.     

Plant Resources from the Bronze Age and the first Iron Age in the northwestern arc of the Mediterranean Basin

This paper updates the question of plant resources during the Bronze Age and First Iron Age in the northwestern Mediterranean Basin. Among the cereals, six-row hulled barley is dominant throughout the territory, whereas naked and hulled wheats take on greater or lesser roles from region to region. Millet cultivation developed during the Bronze Age and became widespread in the First Iron Age. Apart from cereals, pulses, oil species and fruit appear to be secondary. Results from the study of archaeobotanical remains on wetland sites, however, lead us to question this finding, as oil plants and fruits are much better represented in waterlogged conditions. The cultivation of vine began in the First Iron Age. In spite of a number of characteristics common to plants throughout the study area, regional differences, evident in the Bronze Age, seem to dissipate in the First Iron Age.     

Human impact on mid- and late Holocene vegetation in south Cumbria, UK

The use of 9 pollen sampling sites and 56 14C dates has identified hitherto unsuspected or poorly-defined sequences of mid- to late Holocene (late Neolithic to post-Medieval) anthropogenic vegetation changes in south Cumbria, U.K. A series of small-scale, but significant woodland clearance episodes are recorded throughout the Bronze Age, followed by a marked recession in activity during the early Iron Age. The late Iron Age-Roman periods witnessed the first major clearance of woodland in the region which was succeeded by woodland regeneration in the post-Roman/early Medieval period. Woodland clearance intensified in the later Medieval period culminating in large areas of permanently open landscape. The results show that high-resolution, independently date pollen analysis is necessary to reveal regional evidence of small, temporary Bronze Age clearances. A well-documented prehistoric wooden trackway from Foulshaw Moss is shown to be significantly older than previously thought, dating to the mid-Bronze Age, ca. 1550–1250 cal B.C. Pre-Roman cereal cultivation in the area is also confirmed.The Department of Earth Sciences     

Bioarchaeological analysis of cultural transition in the southern Levant using dental nonmetric traits

To many Near Eastern archaeologists, the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age transition in the southern Levant indicates the emergence of a new ethnicity. The question remains, however, whether changes in the material culture are the result of an invasion of foreigners, or instead arose from shifting cultural and technical practices by indigenous peoples. This study utilized dental morphological traits to assess phenetic relationships between the Late Bronze Age site of Dothan (1500-1100 BC) and the Iron Age II site of Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir, 701 BC). Information on 30 dental crown and root traits was collected for 4,412 teeth, representing 392 individuals from Lachish and a minimum of 121 individuals from Dothan, using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System. Seventeen traits from Dothan and Lachish were compared with dentitions from a Byzantine Jerusalem monastery, Iron Age Italy, a Natufian group (early agrarians from the Levant), and a Middle Kingdom Egyptian site using C.A.B. Smith's mean measure of divergence statistic. The findings suggest that there are more similarities between Dothan and Lachish than either of them and other sites. This analysis indicates that the material culture changes were not the result of a foreign invasion. Rather, the Iron Age people of the southern Levant were related to their Bronze Age predecessors.     

Agricultural practices in Arctic Norway during the first millennium b.c.

Palaeoecological investigations of mires suggest that agriculture was established north of the Arctic Circle in Norway during the late Bronze Age (1100?C500 b.c.) and Pre-Roman Iron Age (500?C1 b.c.). The lack of archaeobotanical and archaeological investigations has made it difficult to assess the nature of this early agricultural expansion into the Arctic in any detail. Here we present the first well documented archaeobotanical investigation from north Norway that covers this agricultural pioneer phase. Remains of charred seeds show that barley (Hordeum) was already being cultivated in the late Bronze Age, and that wheat (Triticum) was introduced in the Pre-Roman Iron Age. Large amounts of crowberry (Empetrum) seeds are also typical of the Pre-Roman Iron Age and were obviously an important food plant at the time, at least locally. Charcoal rich layers dated to the late Bronze Age suggest that the local birch forest was initially cleared away with the help of fire, possibly related to a slash-and-burn cultivation practice. Lithostratigraphic and pollen-analytical results indicate that the cultivation practice of the Pre-Roman Iron Age was a form of bush-fallow system with intensive soil re-working alternated with long periods of fallow.     

From forest to open pastures and fields: cultural landscape development in western Norway inferred from two pollen records representing different spatial scales of vegetation

The cultural landscape development of a farming community in western Norway was investigated through pollen analyses from a lake and a peat/soil profile. The pollen record from the lake indicates that there was a decrease in arboreal pollen (AP) by the end of the Mesolithic period (ca. 4200 cal b.c.), and that a substantial forest clearance occurred during the Bronze Age (ca. 1500 cal b.c.). The latter, together with grazing indicators and cereals, suggests a widespread establishment of farming. At the beginning of the Roman Iron Age there is an increase in heath communities. The pollen diagram from the peat/soil profile shows the forest clearance in the Bronze Age more clearly than the lake profile. This local pollen diagram is compared with modern pollen samples from mown and grazed localities in western Norway. Both analogue matching and ordination (PCA) indicate that the site was characterised by pastures and cereal fields from the Late Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age. An expansion of cereal cultivation took place during the Pre-Roman Iron Age, and an arable field was established at the site after ca. a.d. 800. This investigation illustrates the potential of selecting pollen sites reflecting different spatial scales, and complements the cultural history of the area as inferred from archaeological and historical records.     

Vegetation change during the Bronze Age studied in a multi-proxy approach: use of wood linked to charcoal analysis

During recent archaeological excavations in the alpine valley of Montafon, western Austria, a Bronze and early Iron Age settlement cluster located at about 1,000 m a.s.l. was excavated. The human impact on the woodland resulting from these prehistoric settlement activities has been evaluated by the analysis of charred plant macro remains from cultural layers from a hilltop settlement site and two other close-by settlements, all of them encompassing the Early and Middle Bronze Age (19th to 15th century cal. b.c.) and early Iron Age (6th/5th century cal. b.c.). Charred seeds and fruits have provided information on the supply of foodstuff while charcoal (anthracological) analyses of firewood have revealed the use of wood and consequently the changes in local woods. The latter analyses suggest that the spruce-fir woodland (Piceeto-Abietetum) was gradually cleared from the Early Bronze Age. During the Middle Bronze Age large amounts of Pinus sylvestris (pine), Betula (birch), Corylus avellana (hazel) and Sorbus (rowan) with some Picea abies (spruce) characterized the woods, and early succession stages indicate clearings. These anthracological studies are corroborated by pollen studies disclosing clearings in the woods since the Early Bronze Age, which gradually expanded during the Middle Bronze Age. Furthermore, several charcoals from a Middle Bronze Age hearth seem to be of the same age, and the pattern of their annual growth-rings suggests the pollarding of broadleaved trees.     

新疆哈密拉甫却克墓地人的颅面部测量学特征

新疆地处欧亚大陆东西方交汇处,公元前200年以后的人群迁徙、融合历程能够反映丝绸之路沿线地区不同族群的形成历史和多元文化的互动模式。拉甫却克墓地是东疆哈密地区首次发掘的历史时期墓葬群。本文基于该墓地10例成年人颅面部测量数据,采用多元统计及生物距离的方法来评估拉甫却克墓地的人群结构,并对哈密绿洲地带青铜时代晚期到历史时期的人群变迁进行初步探索。结果显示：1）拉甫却克人群呈现出明显的异质性,既有与欧亚大陆东部人群颅面部特征相近的个体,也有表现出东西方混合特征的个体;2）青铜时代晚期至早期铁器时代（公元前2000年至公元前1000年）,哈密人群在体质特征上存在连续性;而早期铁器时代到历史时期（公元前1000年以后）,随着欧亚大陆东部人群遗传贡献的增加,哈密人群体质特征发生明显变化。结合考古证据和历史记录,新的人骨标本让我们对哈密历史时期的人群迁徙和融合有了初步认识,也使后续可以针对这一问题展开更详细的多学科研究。     

线粒体全基因组揭示嫩江流域史前人群遗传结构的动态变化

嫩江流域是中国东北地区古代先民的重要栖息地之一。自新石器时代开始这里的先民一直以渔猎经济为主要生活方式,直到新石器时代晚期至早期青铜时代才开始兼营畜牧业和少量的种植业。嫩江流域青铜时代的生业模式的转变是否伴随着外来人群的融合与替代一直是考古研究的热点。为了探讨嫩江流域新石器时代与青铜铁器时代人群的构成是否改变,我们对嫩江流域新石器时代至青铜铁器时代的24个个体进行了线粒体全基因组分析。分析结果表明：嫩江流域青铜铁器时代人群与新石器时代人群具有一定遗传连续性的同时,晚期人群与西辽河地区古代人群有着更近的遗传联系,表明西辽河地区古代居民对嫩江流域青铜铁器时代人群具有部分遗传贡献。结合考古学文化、古气候学数据以及语言学证据,我们推测距今4000-3000年间,西辽河地区古代居民曾迁入到嫩江流域,并留下遗传印记。     

Tracing the Origin of the East-West Population Admixture in the Altai Region (Central Asia)

A recent discovery of Iron Age burials (Pazyryk culture) in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia may shed light on the mode and tempo of the generation of the current genetic east-west population admixture in Central Asia. Studies on ancient mitochondrial DNA of this region suggest that the Altai Mountains played the role of a geographical barrier between West and East Eurasian lineages until the beginning of the Iron Age. After the 7th century BC, coinciding with Scythian expansion across the Eurasian steppes, a gradual influx of East Eurasian sequences in Western steppes is detected. However, the underlying events behind the genetic admixture in Altai during the Iron Age are still unresolved: 1) whether it was a result of migratory events (eastward firstly, westward secondly), or 2) whether it was a result of a local demographic expansion in a ‘contact zone’ between European and East Asian people. In the present work, we analyzed the mitochondrial DNA lineages in human remains from Bronze and Iron Age burials of Mongolian Altai. Here we present support to the hypothesis that the gene pool of Iron Age inhabitants of Mongolian Altai was similar to that of western Iron Age Altaians (Russia and Kazakhstan). Thus, this people not only shared the same culture (Pazyryk), but also shared the same genetic east-west population admixture. In turn, Pazyryks appear to have a similar gene pool that current Altaians. Our results further show that Iron Age Altaians displayed mitochondrial lineages already present around Altai region before the Iron Age. This would provide support for a demographic expansion of local people of Altai instead of westward or eastward migratory events, as the demographic event behind the high population genetic admixture and diversity in Central Asia.     

The Palaeoenvironmental Impact of Prehistoric Settlement and Proto-Historic Urbanism: Tracing the Emergence of the Oppidum of Corent,Auvergne, France

Early human societies and their interactions with the natural world have been extensively explored in palaeoenvironmental studies across Central and Western Europe. Yet, despite an extensive body of scholarship, there is little consideration of the environmental impacts of proto-historic urbanisation. Typically palaeoenvironmental studies of Bronze and Iron Age societies discuss human impact in terms of woodland clearance, landscape openness and evidence for agriculture. Although these features are clearly key indicators of human settlement, and characterise Neolithic and early to Middle Bronze Age impacts at Corent, they do not appear to represent defining features of a protohistoric urban environment. The Late Iron Age Gallic Oppidum of Corent is remarkable for the paucity of evidence for agriculture and strong representation of apophytes associated with disturbance. Increased floristic diversity – a phenomenon also observed in more recent urban environments – was also noted. The same, although somewhat more pronounced, patterns are noted for the Late Bronze Age and hint at the possibility of a nascent urban area. High percentages of pollen from non-native trees such as Platanus, Castanea and Juglans in the late Bronze Age and Gallic period also suggest trade and cultural exchange, notably with the Mediterranean world. Indeed, these findings question the validity of applying Castanea and Juglans as absolute chronological markers of Romanisation. These results clearly indicate the value of local-scale palaeoecological studies and their potential for tracing the phases in the emergence of a proto-historic urban environment.     

Evidence from charcoal analysis for environmental change during the interval late Bronze Age to Roman,at the archaeological site of Castro de Penices,N.W. Portugal

Vegetation and environmental change from late Bronze Age to the Roman period in north-west Portugal is reconstructed on the basis of charcoal analyses. The site was occupied by people of the Castrejo culture, i.e. an Iron Age culture that developed in the north-west Iberian peninsula. The pattern of exploitation of natural wood resources by local populations during this period appears to be similar during the three phases of occupation. The frequencies of light-demanding plant species, mostly Leguminosae, testify to considerable destruction and degeneration of the climax woodlands. The preference of particular wood for specific uses, such as roofing, is discussed and the Holocene history of selected trees within the wider region is considered.     

Population history of the middle Euphrates valley: Dental non-metric traits at Tell Ashara,Tell Masaikh and Jebel Mashtale,Syria

Fifty-nine dental non-metric traits were scored using Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System on a sample of teeth from 350 human skeletons excavated at three sites in the lower middle Euphrates valley. The dataset was divided into six chronological subsets: Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Early Iron Age with Neo-Assyrian period, Classical/Late Antiquity, Early Islamic (Umayyad and Abbasid) period and Modern period. The matrix of Mean Measure of Divergence values exhibited temporal homogeneity of the sample with only dental non-metric trait scores in the Modern subset differing significantly from most other subsets. Such a result suggests that no major gene flow occurred in the middle Euphrates valley between the 3rd millennium BCE and the early 2nd millennium CE. Only after the Mongolian invasion and large depopulation of northern Mesopotamia in the 13th century CE a major population change occurred when the area was taken over in the 17th century by Bedouin tribes from the Arabian Peninsula.     

Brief communication: diachronic investigation of linear enamel hypoplasia in prehistoric skeletal samples from Trentino,Italy

Linear enamel hypoplasia was scored on Neolithic, Copper Age, and Early Bronze Age samples from the Trentino region, Italy, in order to compare the extent of growth disruption in different biocultural subsistence systems (foragers with little agriculture, to agriculturists and agropastoralists). The Early Bronze Age sample shows a higher frequency of enamel defects and an earlier chronological onset than the early Neolithic sample. The higher frequency of defects in the Bronze Age sample could be linked to less diversified nutrition and, because of increased sedentism, a higher risk of disease.     

Divergence in Male and Female Manipulative Behaviors with the Intensification of Metallurgy in Central Europe

Humeral morphology has been shown to reflect, in part, habitual manipulative behaviors in humans. Among Central European agricultural populations, long-term social change, increasing task specialization, and technological innovation all had the potential to impact patterns of habitual activity and upper limb asymmetry. However, systematic temporal change in the skeletal morphology of agricultural populations in this region has not been well-characterized. This study investigates diachronic patterns in humeral biomechanical properties and lengths among 174 adult Central European agriculturalists through the first ∼5400 years of farming in the region. Greater asymmetry in biomechanical properties was expected to accompany the introduction of metallurgy, particularly in males, while upper limb loading patterns were expected to be more similar between the Bronze and Iron Ages. Results revealed a divergence in the lateralization of upper limb biomechanical properties by sex between the Early/Middle Neolithic and Early/Middle Bronze Age. Neolithic females had significantly more variable properties than males in both humeri, while Bronze Age female properties became homogeneous and very symmetrical relative to the right-biased lateralization of contemporaneous males. The Bronze Age to Iron Age transition was associated with morphological change among females, with a significant increase in right-biased asymmetry and a concomitant reduction in sexual dimorphism. Relative to biomechanical properties, humeral length variation and asymmetry were low though some significant sexual dimorphism and temporal change was found. It was among females that the lateralization of humeral biomechanical properties, and variation within them, changed most profoundly through time. This suggests that the introduction of the ard and plow, metallurgical innovation, task specialization, and socioeconomic change through ∼5400 years of agriculture impacted upper limb loading in Central European women to a greater extent than men.     

Dendrochronological analyses of wood samples from a Late Bronze to early Iron Age site at Lake Luokesa,Lithuania

Tree rings of 184 archaeological wood samples from two Late Bronze to early Iron Age lake sites at Lake Luokesa (Luokesai e?eras), Lithuania, Moletai district, were analyzed. Despite severe difficulties with synchronization, Pinus (pine), Quercus (oak) and Alnus (alder) yielded some cross-datable series. The general picture is that the settlers chose small trees as timber, which they used in their natural round shape. The trees did not grow in homogeneous even-aged stands, but show very different ages and growth levels. Despite the generally low numbers of tree rings in the individual samples, the strong archaeological framework allowed cross-dating of some series and the building of chronologies for single structures. Based on these attempts, a 90 year long first floating chronology of the settlement structures is presented. Luokesa Site 2 (L2) was mainly built within the relative year 53. Luokesa Site 1 (L1) was certainly in use from the relative year 74 onwards. All fences at L1 show their main building activity in the relative year 81, four years after the main building activities in the village itself. It can be concluded that the settlement L1 was in use for at least 16 years. Because of the lack of a standard dendrochronological curve for the Baltic region, wiggle-matching was applied to obtain an absolute date for both settlements. The data clearly show that all samples relate to the Late Bronze–early Iron Age. The period where all wiggle matching results overlap is the period between 625 and 535 bc (the 2σ ranges are given). Based on the dating, duration and timber characteristics of the occupation, comparisons with Polish early Iron Age sites are made, which indicate a close resemblance in terms of wood use and settlement concept.     

内蒙古中南部地区青铜—早期铁器时代居民的龋病研究

本文对内蒙古中南部地区青铜—早期铁器时代5个考古地点出土人骨的龋病患病情况做了研究, 在与其他国内材料对比的基础上, 探讨了文化类型与龋病患病率之间的关系。龋病在以农业经济为主的人群中患病率最高, 在农牧兼营的人群中龋病率其次, 在以畜牧业为生的游牧人群中患病率最低。龋病是反映内蒙古地区该时段古代居民经济模式的一个有效指标。     

Analysis of the fuel wood used in Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age copper mining sites of the Schwaz and Brixlegg area (Tyrol,Austria)

Charcoal analysis was carried out as part of an interdisciplinary project focusing on the copper mining history of the former mining area of Schwaz and Brixlegg, a region pivotal as a copper source in prehistoric Europe. The goal was to use remains of carbonised wood to investigate environmental implications of prehistoric mining, as well as to gain new insight about the ancient mining technique of fire-setting. Charcoal samples from seven copper mining sites (Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age) were analysed. The results reveal a strong preference for coniferous wood as fuel in fire-setting, but not in ore smelting/roasting processes. Species composition at the ore-processing sites indicates moderate forest degradation processes caused by human intervention.     

Man and environment around lake Maliq (southern Albania) during the Late Holocene

The archaeological site of Sovjan is located at the edge of lake Maliq. It was occupied from the early Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. Pollen data from a short sequence of peat deposits dated between 4255±50 and 2420±45 uncal B.P. and charcoal, seeds and wood from archaeological deposits have provided new information on human activities in the region. They are discussed in the general frame of agricultural developments in the Balkans. Regional environment (regarding vegetation and hydrology) and climate are also discussed. Received June 15, 2000 / Accepted March 8, 2001     

Madonna del Piano (Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, central Italy) ox and dog: a case of intentional Iron Age inhumation

Two almost complete and articulated skeletons of a small-sized 15-year-old shorthorn ox and of a 3-4-year-old dog were found associated to Iron Age human burials at Madonna del Piano, in Sesto Fiorentino, near Florence. The two skeletons were ritually buried. The find adds to another case of cattle burial also found in the area, and therefore attests to a penetration and persistence of late Neolithic and Bronze Age northern and eastern European practices in Italy. The specimens provide important evidence on the habits and believes of Iron Age circum-Mediterranean human populations. The ox reveals that castration was accomplished late in the animal’s growth, but also that cattle were used for heavy work, though being worshiped animals.